


Crazy Science

by CMeWrite



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-30
Updated: 2015-01-31
Packaged: 2018-02-19 06:46:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 133,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2378756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMeWrite/pseuds/CMeWrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Orphan Black high school AU inspired by the movie Weird Science. </p><p>Cosima and Scott are just a couple of science geeks, stoned and home alone with an off-limits basement lab and a beautiful French Barbie doll. </p><p>What could possibly go wrong?</p><p>It’s time for crazy science, totally crazy science!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Toy Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the parents are away, the science geeks will play.

“Hey Scotty, get your ass over here, my folks just left for the conference in Frankfurt and I’ve got the house to myself for the next week!” 

“Seriously, Cosima, your parents trust you on your own?”

“Dude, I’m a straight A student, I turn 18 in two weeks, and I haven’t started a fire in 14 months, 11 days, and…” she glances at the time on her phone “7 hours. It’s about time they trusted me.”

“But who’s counting, right?” Scott replies.

“Just get over here man. Pizza is on its way, I’ve got the PlayStation fired up and I’m about to fire up something else, if you get my drift.”

“I’ll be there in 20!” Scott hangs up the phone, throws some stuff in his backpack, tells his mom he’s spending the night at Cosima’s and heads out the front door. 

Cosima and Scott have been friends since the first grade, when Scott’s family moved to San Francisco and Cosima stood up to a couple 4th grade bullies in the schoolyard who were trying to force Scott to eat paste. What Cosima lacks in physical stature, she more than makes up for with gusto. And though she may have gotten a pair of broken glasses out of the melee, she also got a lifelong pal. Cosima and Scott bonded over a love of science and are basically considered the nerds of their high school. In fact, Cosima has had valedictorian sewn up since freshman year; no other kid even comes close to her stellar grades. They’ve spent many afternoons creating different science projects, spurred on by Cosima’s dad, a well-respected scientist and inventor. He’s been a mentor to the kids and has occasionally let them join him in his basement lab for some experimenting, though Cosima has been forbidden from entering since that fire mishap 14 months, 11 days and 7 hours ago. 

Cosima and Scott’s relationship has always been strictly platonic. Another thing Cosima and Scott have in common is their interest in girls. Cosima has had a couple summer flings, but nothing serious. And though Scott’s never really dated anyone, he has had many a crush on members of the school’s cheerleading squad, girls who never give him the time of day unless they need an answer during a test. They have a small core group of good friends, mostly social outcasts like themselves. When Cosima and Scott aren’t conducting experiments, they’re usually hanging with their pals at the local bowling alley/diner, Pins and Noodles.

Exactly 20 minutes after they had hung up, Scott is at the front door ringing the bell. 

Cosima opens the door. “Damn Scotty, how are you always so punctual? Get in, I can’t believe how hard it’s raining.”

“This friendship would never work if I was as late as you always are. Balance Cosima, that’s what fuels this relationship.” Scott says as he comes in and pulls off his rain slicker.

“That and this!” Cosima smiles waving her newly purchased bag of pot. Everybody’s got a vice and for Cosima that’s marijuana. Her folks would probably freak if they knew, but it’s the one thing that always seems to calm Cosima’s more manic tendencies. She started smoking the summer before sophomore year and got Scott hooked on his birthday shortly thereafter. It was during one of their early smoke sessions that Cosima mentioned she’d like to get dreads, which Scott totally encouraged, followed by her immediately dragging him along to a salon downtown to get it done. 

Cosima and Scott sprawl out on her living room floor and proceed to spend the next several hours smoking pot, playing video games, and eating pizza and whatever junk food and soda they can find in the kitchen. 

“Cosima?” Scott says, placing his root beer on the coffee table.

“Yeah, Scott?” Cosima replies, pulling her eyes away from the TV to look at Scott.

“Who are you going to ask to prom?”

“I don’t know, I’m thinking of skipping it, there’s no one that I’m really into at the moment. What about you?”

“Same. I have a list of several girls I’d love to go with, but yeah, pipe dream. Hey, what if you could bring anyone to prom, sky’s the limit, who would it be?”

Cosima thought about his question for a moment. “Well, uh, this is gonna sound really lame and creepy. You need to swear not to repeat what I’m about to say and you better the hell not laugh. Promise?”

“Come on, you know all your secrets are safe with me. Who is it?”

“Ok, well, for my 8th birthday Helena gave me a science Barbie. She was wearing a beautiful white lab coat and she had her own microscope. I was never into Barbie dolls, but there was just something about this one. One day I just couldn’t stop staring at it, so I grabbed it off the shelf and just started going to town, messing with her hair, cutting it shoulder length and curling it. I added a couple cute freckles, one right on the tip of her nose, and a small mole just under her lips. I then colored her eyes so they were hazel, practically golden; I just wasn’t feeling the blue eyes for some reason. Anyway, afterwards I realized that I had just created my dream girl. It was a total ‘Holy watershed’ moment cause, uh, that’s also when I realized girls gave me butterflies. I also think I’ve kinda always held every other girl to those impossible standards I set when I was freakin’ 8 years old. Like, there’s never gonna be a girl like that for me in the real world. Ugh, this is so embarrassing.”

“No, come on Cosima, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. That’s actually super cute. And of course your ideal girl would be into science.”

“Hell yeah. She’s not just into science, she’s a brilliant scientist, better than me even.”

“Wow, better than you huh? Impossible!” Scott grins at Cosima.

“Shut up! Brains, Scott, my girl will have mad brains. You know, something going on up here?” She points to her head. “I don’t want some dumb girl I can’t have a conversation with. Though from the way you ogle the cheer squad, I don’t think you notice much above their asses and pom-poms.”

“Haha, very funny. Do you still have that Barbie?” Scott asks.

Sheepishly Cosima admits, “Uh… yeah, I do. I put her back in the box and tossed her in the back of my closet a couple years ago. I couldn’t bear to have her staring at me from my bookshelf any longer.”

“Go get her.”

“What? No way!”

“Oh come on Cosima, it’s just you and me here, I want to see this amazing doll.”

“Ugh, fine.” Cosima stomps up the stairs to her room. Scott hears things crashing on the floor as Cosima tosses items from her closet, digging for the Barbie. After several minutes she returns to the living room, original box in hand and passes it to Scott.

Scott takes several moments inspecting the doll before exclaiming, “It’s all about the brains, right Cosima?”

“Hey, I didn’t say I couldn’t appreciate a beautiful girl, it’s just not the only thing that attracts me.”

“Seriously, Cosima, I’m not into dolls, but oh my goodness, she is HOT! I’m surprised I never noticed her in your room, though it is a mess in there. I can see why you couldn’t have this staring at you in your bedroom. I’m pretty sure I’d never get to sleep with her looking at me, though I think those nights would be plenty occupied with another activity.”

“Yuck, come on Scott, don’t talk about Delphine like that.” Cosima exclaims, grabbing the box out of his hands.

“Delphine?” 

“Oh shit, ignore that,” Cosima gasps.

“No way! Did you seriously name her Delphine?”

“Yeah and I guess I also failed to mention she’s French.” Cosima sheepishly admits, her face now crimson.

“Damn, you sure were thorough when creating your dream girl.”

“Yeah, well, whatever, not like I’m gonna run into her in the halls of our high school. It’s just a stupid childhood fantasy. Anyway, there you have it, my ideal girl. Come on, we have the house to ourselves which means nobody is guarding the basement.”

“Doesn’t your dad lock it?”

“Yes, but you see these eyes Scott? I have 4 of them and they’ve seen where Daddy-o hides the key. Follow me!”

“Are you sure Cosima? You’re dad seemed pretty adamant about us staying out of there after your last experiment gone horribly wrong. I don’t think he’d react too kindly to another visit from our friendly neighborhood fire department.”

“Don’t fret Scotty boy, I don’t plan to use a blow torch this time.”

Scott reluctantly follows Cosima down to her dad’s basement lab. Cosima sets down the box holding Delphine and they both proceed to marvel over all the cool equipment. 

“What does that thing do?” Scott points to a shiny silver contraption in the corner that sort of looks like the love child of a telescope and a rifle. 

“Must be new, it wasn’t here last time I came down. Here’s the power switch.” 

“Cosima, do not turn that on.”

“Live a little Scott, what could happen?” Cosima says as she flips the switch and the machine powers up. She taps a button on the side and jumps back a bit when a beam of light shoots out, then a huge smile spreads across her face. “Ooh a laser! I wonder what this thing does. Let’s aim it at something!”

“No Cosima, this could be dangerous, just shut it off. You’re high and this is liable to end with the police storming your house.”

“Dude, you are super dramatic, chill. Hey, put Delphine on that pedestal, I’ll zap her.”

“You’re going to zap your doll? What if you wreck it?”

“Well, I mean, come on, this was a childish fantasy, I can’t hang onto it forever. Not like I’m gonna drag my Barbie doll to college with me. Sometimes you just have to let go of the dreams of your youth and look forward to the reality of the future.” 

“What, are you preparing your valedictorian speech now? Here.” Scott hands Cosima the box. 

Cosima lifts the figure out of the box and stares at her for a few beats. “Well Delphine, it’s been real. Or not real, but you know what I mean. Hopefully one day I’ll meet a girl even half as amazing as you are. Au revoir!” Cosima gives the doll a quick peck on the nose and then places it on the pedestal. She then hands Scott a pair of goggles and slips hers on. “Alright dude, brace yourself, who the hell knows what’s about to happen.”

“Wait, I better open the window, just in case the lab fills with smoke again.” Scott rushes over and opens the window slightly then returns safely behind Cosima.

Cosima situates herself behind the machine and puts her finger on the trigger, “Ready! Aim! Fire!” Cosima pulls the trigger, a laser beam shoots at the doll and, at that exact moment, a huge thunderclap booms outside accompanied by a massive lightning bolt. Cosima screams and ducks under a table, Scott right behind her. 

“Whoa, that was intense. You ok man?” Cosima asks as she regains some of her composure.

“I’m fine, how about you? Your hand was on the machine when the lightning struck.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m totally solid, it didn’t strike me or anything, that was just freaky timing. I think I nearly wet myself.” Cosima chuckles nervously. 

“What happened to your girl?” Scott asks. 

“Let’s inspect the damage, shall we?” Cosima gets out from under the table and heads over to the pedestal. “What the hell? She’s gone!” 

“What? No way. Maybe it fell somewhere.” Scott helps Cosima search around the basement, but there’s no sign of the doll. 

Cosima goes over to where she left the box, but it’s empty except for the little toy microscope. “This is ridiculous, how does a doll just disappear?”  
“I don’t know, but she left a bit of a burn mark on that pedestal. Maybe you disintegrated it.”

Cosima stares at the char and starts to feel a tear run down her cheek. She quickly wipes it away before Scott notices. Suddenly the doorbell rings. 

“What the hell? What time is it?”

“3:24 am,” Scott answers as he glances at his watch. 

“Who would be at my door at this hour?”

“Um, the cops maybe.”

“No way, knock it off Scott. You think?”

“I don’t know, go check.”

“Ok, but come with. What if it’s an axe murderer?”

“Axe murderers don’t ring the doorbell, Cosima.”

“How do you know, you ever met one? Come on.”

Scott follows Cosima up the stairs. She stops and grabs a couple golf clubs from her dad’s bag by the closet, she hands one to Scott and holds onto another. She slowly approaches the door. She looks through the peephole, but the rain is so heavy and the fog so thick, she can’t see a thing. 

“Who is it?” Cosima asks nervously.

The person on the other side of the door says something, but it’s unintelligible as the pouring rain drowns it out. 

“Just open it Cosima, I’ve got your dad’s Big Bertha at the ready to take down the very considerate, doorbell ringing axe murderer.”

“Haha, you’re a riot. Ok, you better protect me Scott, it’s time to man up, you owe me after I took a swing at those 4th grade bullies and they destroyed my awesome Hello Kitty glasses.”

“Dude, that was like 12 years ago.” Cosima shoots him a glare. “Ok, ok, I got your back. Just open it, it could be important.”

Cosima slowly unlocks the door and pulls it open.

“Holy shit!” Cosima exclaims, mouth agape, as the woman standing before her, staring into her eyes, looks eerily familiar.


	2. The Door Belle

“Pardon, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The beautiful, curly-haired blonde on the doorstep exclaims.

A shocked Cosima tries, but fails, to respond. She just continues to stare, mouth open wide. 

“Cosima, who is it?” Scott asks, coming forward, with a tight grip on the golf club. 

“This can’t be. How high am I?” Cosima finally replies, her gaze still fixed on the girl at the door. 

Scott peers over Cosima’s shoulder at their visitor. “Whoa!”

“You see her Scott?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“She’s not a figment of my imagination?”

“Not unless we share an imagination,” Scott responds. 

“Excusez-moi,” the woman, thoroughly confused by this exchange, finally pipes up. “I am very real and getting pretty wet. Can I please come in?”

“Pretty,” Cosima hazily replies. “Uh, I mean yeah, yeah, sorry, come in.”

The blonde enters and Cosima closes the door behind her. The three of them then stand in the foyer, just looking at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Finally, Scott speaks up, “Um, miss, can I… uh… would you mind… who are you?”

“Oh my, where are my manners? I’m Delphine.”

“You sure are!” Cosima replies, looking the girl up and down.

“Wait, what? Delphine? No way!” Scott chimes in. 

“Oui, I can assure you my name is Delphine. And you are?” She directs her question towards Cosima.

“I - uh, I’m Cosima, Cosima Niehaus, and this is, well, this is my house,” Cosima responds nervously.

Delphine smiles and extends her hand. “Enchanté!”

“Enchanté!” Cosima smiles back, shaking the outstretched hand, while staring into Delphine’s eyes, failing to let go of her hand.

“Ahem.” Scott clears his throat, bringing Cosima out of her trance. 

“Oh, my bad.” Cosima lets go of the hand. “This is Scott.”

“Nice to meet you, Scott.” 

“Yeah, uh, you too, Delphine.” Scott blushes. 

“Did I interrupt your golf game?” Delphine chuckles, looking at the clubs in their hands.

“Sorry, sorry, can never be too careful answering the door at this hour,” Cosima says as she takes Scott’s club and returns both his and hers to the golf bag. “Scott, please grab Delphine a towel from the bathroom so she can dry off.” Scott runs off and returns seconds later, handing over the towel to Delphine. 

“Thank you,” Delphine says as she starts toweling her hair.

“So, um, what are you doing here? I mean it’s nearly 4 in the morning. Are you lost? Did your car break down?” Cosima inquires.

“I am so sorry about the late hour, I didn’t realize. Of course I wouldn’t normally be ringing doorbells at this time of night. I don’t actually know what is going on. I just sort of found myself on your doorstep in need of refuge from the rain.”

“Delphine?” Scott asks. “You have a lab coat on. Are you a scientist?”

“Oh, well not yet, but one day, I hope. Science is a passion of mine,” she replies. 

“Yeah, yeah, same with us actually,” Cosima says. “So, uh, may I ask how old you are?” 

“17,” Delphine softly replies.

"Whoa, so are we. Cool!” Scott exclaims.

“Wait, you’re 17, French, and at my door in the middle of the night. Where are your parents?” Cosima wonders.

“I don’t know. Actually, I don’t remember them,” Delphine answers confusedly.

“Are you suffering from some kind of head damage? Maybe something happened in the storm? Scott and I can take you to the hospital to get checked out.” 

“I have a slight headache, but that’s it, I feel fine otherwise. I really don’t think a hospital visit is in order. In fact, I can still recall the entire periodic table: Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Berylium, Boron, Carbon, Nitro-“ 

Cosima cuts her off. “Hey, I believe you, you don’t need to recite the whole thing right now.” 

“Sorry, I just got carried away. But my point is, I’d think severe head trauma would impede that knowledge, don’t you agree?” 

“Well it could be selective amnesia, where you only remember certain things,” Cosima offers.

”Perhaps, but of all things I remember science? I mean I do love it, but I’d think I’d love my family and friends more and, yet, I can’t think of a single one.”

“How about Barbie, does that name sound familiar?” Scott inquires. 

Cosima glares at him. “Ha ha, don’t mind him, he’s delirious, it’s way past his bedtime. Your school must be looking for you. Maybe we can Google it and give them a call, see if they’re missing a Delphine with extremely gorgeous curly blonde locks. You’ll have to give me the name of your stylist when you can remember it,” Cosima adds cheekily, which earns a groan from Scott.

Delphine blushes a bit before responding. “Thank you for the compliment. I - I don’t know what school I attend. This is really weird.”

“So, what can you recall about your life?” Cosima asks. 

“Well, I know I’m Delphine, though I can’t think of my surname. I’m from France, but obviously I’m in America.”

“Yes, San Francisco, California, to be exact,” Scott interjects. 

Delphine nods her acceptance of that information and continues. “I’m fluent in both French and English, apparently, and, as we’ve already established, I love science. Oh, and there’s something somewhat familiar about you, Cosima. I think perhaps I’ve met you before tonight.” 

“Uh, I don’t think so, maybe I just have one of those faces. So that’s it? That’s the extent of your knowledge of the life and times of Delphine?” Cosima wonders anxiously. 

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“Can you excuse us for a sec?” Cosima asks. 

“Certainly,” Delphine sweetly replies.

Cosima pulls Scott into the living room out of earshot of their visitor. “Scott, how the hell is this possible? She’s my freakin’ Delphine, a Barbie doll for heaven’s sake. This is insane!”

“You probably should have given her more of a back-story, maybe a last name.” 

“Dude, I was 10, she was a toy, I gave her what I did, how the hell was I supposed to know she’d like come to life or whatever? It had to be my dad’s new machine. We freaking did this!”

“Um, correction, you did this, I just observed. I did tell you not to touch it, remember?”

“Hey, you’re the one who opened the window. That lightning strike must have contributed. No way my dad invented a machine that can do what we just did, I mean that’s ridiculous.”

“I don’t know Cosima, maybe you should call him and tell him what happened.”

“No way! I wasn’t even supposed to go down there. Now I’m just going to call him in Frankfurt and tell him I brought a doll to life in his lab? Then what? I’m punished and what happens to her?” Cosima and Scott both turn to glance at Delphine, who is busy marveling at the art in the foyer.

“Well do you have any other brilliant ideas how to handle this then?” Scott asks.

“No. Ok, look, we have a week before my folks get back, we’ll figure something out,” Cosima insists.

“And what are we going to do about Delphine over there in the meantime?” Scott asks, pointing towards the blonde. 

“Maybe we tell her the truth,” Cosima suggests. 

“Tell her she’s not real, that she’s your toy, one that was simultaneously zapped with a laser and struck by lightning, leading to her somehow coming to life? Come on Cosima, that sounds nutty to me and I know it’s true, she’s liable to freak out and take off.” 

“Well, when you put it like that. You’re probably right. I don’t want to confuse her anymore than she already is. Ok, I did this, so I’m responsible for her. She’ll stay here, we’ll just keep convincing her she must have some form of amnesia and then figure something out. Uh, dude, next time I’m about to partake in some kind of crazy science experiment, please just knock me out. Just grab some chloroform and put me down. This shit I get up to never ends well.”

“You’re just now realizing that? But, hey, it’s too soon to think of this not ending well. I mean you have the girl of your dreams in your house. How cool is that?” 

“I know, Scott, ooh boy, do I know,” Cosima says as she looks over at Delphine longingly. “And reality is far better than fantasy.” 

“Hello, is anyone home?” Scott waves a hand in front of Cosima’s face, which is stuck staring at Delphine. 

“Sorry, sorry, zoned out there for a sec. Alright, I’m going to show her to the guest room, you’ll have to crash down here tonight.” Cosima turns to face the hall. “Hey, Delphine.” 

“Yes, Cosima.” Just the sound of her name coming out of those lips makes Cosima shiver. 

“You can stay here. We have a guest room all ready. My folks are out of the country this week, so we don’t have to deal with them just yet. Starting tomorrow, Scott and I can help figure out a way to jog your memory or something.”

“Sounds good, merci. I don’t know why, but it feels really comfortable being in your home.”

“Hmm, I wonder why?” Scott dryly responds, earning a nasty look from Cosima.

“Scott, why don’t you clean up the mess we made of the living room and make yourself comfortable for the night? I’ll show Delphine upstairs to her room.”

Delphine follows Cosima up the stairs. “So here’s the bathroom.” Cosima points to their left. Delphine, though, takes a right turn straight into Cosima’s room. “Uh, Delphine? Where are you going?”

“Is this not the room where I will be staying?” Delphine innocently inquires.

“No, um, this is my room,” Cosima says as she follows her in.

“Sorry, it felt so inviting, I was just drawn to it.” Delphine looks around the room stopping to stare at the bookshelf for a second before glancing over to the open closet where items have been strewn about.

“Must be all my science stuff,” Cosima quickly adds while wiping a bead of sweat from her brow and pointing towards her desk.

“Yeah, must be. Oh my, you have the periodic table framed? That’s really lovely. And now I feel foolish for reciting the elements downstairs, you probably know them just as well as I do.”

“No problem, seriously, it’s always nice to meet a fellow fan of science.” Cosima smiles at Delphine, then glances over her shoulder at the shelf where Delphine’s former self used to inhabit. Cosima slowly realizes that shelf is directly across from her periodic table. Just as her mind is racing, Delphine pipes up. 

“Ooh, you have a microscope! May I?” Delphine asks excitedly as she notices the piece of equipment on Cosima’s desk.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Delphine sits down and examines the microscope. “This is amazing! I vaguely recall having had one of my own and it does not compare at all to this one.”

“Thanks, yeah, my parents got if for me for my 16th birthday. Some kids ask for a car when they turn 16, I wanted a microscope. Nerdy, I know.” 

“No, not at all. I get it,” Delphine says, earning a smile from Cosima. 

“I’m also a really crappy driver, but that’s a story for another day. Ok, so your room is right next door.” Cosima leads Delphine to the guest room. 

“Oh, this is lovely. Cosima, thank you so much for all you’re doing. Here I am a stranger with memory problems that invades your space, interrupts your night with your boyfriend, and you’re being so hospitable.”

“Whoa, whoa, Scott is not my boyfriend, just my BFF,” Cosima hastily interjects.

“BFF?”

“Best friend forever,” Cosima quickly explains. “Absolutely no romantic interest going on there. I, uh, yeah, just friends.” Cosima stops herself from nearly revealing her lack of interest in boys altogether.

“Oh, I shouldn’t have presumed.”

“Totally fine, no sweat. And about the space invading thing, it’s no biggie, really. You don’t seem like an axe murderer, so I think we’re safe.”

“Ah, yes, I must have left my axe back in France,” Delphine laughs.

“Yeah, probably pretty tough to get that through airport security,” Cosima jokes back. “Well, uh, looks like you also didn’t bring any other clothing, so I will grab you some from my mom’s closet, she’s a little closer to your height or I’d have lent you something of mine. Sorry, vertically challenged over here.” Cosima rushes out and grabs Delphine a few things of her mom’s then returns, handing them off to Delphine. “Tomorrow we can take a little trip to the mall, get you something more your style.”

“Sounds good, I just hope I can recall my style by then.” 

“I’m sure you look good in anything,” Cosima can’t stop herself from stating.

“I don’t know about that, but thank you,” Delphine blushes. 

“Sure, sure. Well, it’s late, so I’ll leave you to get some sleep. If you need anything, I’m right next door, don’t hesitate to knock. Goodnight Delphine.” 

“Bonne nuit Cosima.” Delphine leans down and kisses Cosima’s right cheek, then the left. Cosima glances up at Delphine shyly before turning and walking out. Once she’s closed the door behind her, Cosima leans back against it and touches a hand to her cheek in disbelief. 

“Oh crap, I am so screwed,” Cosima whispers as she shuffles off to get ready for bed.


	3. The Best Part of Wakin' Up...

As the sun beams through the window, Cosima slowly wakes up with a groan and looks around the room, shaking her head, “Well that was frikkin’ insane!” She reaches for her glasses on the nightstand, puts them on and glances towards the clock. “Whoa, it’s 12 o’clock? Damn, gotta love the weekend!”

Cosima takes a deep breath and the strong scent of coffee hits her nose. She smiles and gets out of bed, grabbing her robe as she heads out of her room and down the stairs, following that pleasant aroma. As she walks through the living room towards the kitchen she exclaims, “Yo Scotty, how’d you know coffee is what I needed? I just had the strangest dream that my doll-.” Cosima freezes in her tracks as, upon entering the kitchen, she sees a blonde standing at the coffee machine, “phine, uh Delphine, you’re real, um, really awake.” 

“Bonjour Cosima, did you just call me Dollphine?“ Delphine chuckles.

Scott nearly chokes on his breakfast. “Dollphine, that’s priceless!”

Cosima shoots him a dirty look before turning her attention back to Delphine. “No, no, I was just going to say that I had a strange dream about a doll, um, Chucky. You know, from the movie Child’s Play about that creepy, little redheaded doll, possessed by an evil spirit, murders people left and right?”

“Non, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it, but a murderous doll? That sounds silly,” Delphine responds. 

“Let’s hope,” Scott mumbles under his breath. 

“Well anyway, yeah, so he was in the dream and, uh, well, um, I just forgot the rest." This earns odd looks from both Scott and Delphine, so Cosima changes the subject. "The coffee smells amazing!” Cosima says as she pours a cup and takes a sip. “Mmm, delicious! This is like the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. Scott, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Actually,” Scott announces, “Delphine made the coffee.”

“Oh, wow. Delphine, thank you, this is great. So, uh, did you sleep well?”

“Yes, wonderfully. It felt like the first decent night’s sleep I’ve had in a while, even though I can’t really recall my previous sleeps, but that bed was so comfortable.”

“Good, good. So French toast, huh?”

“Oui, now that I can't take credit for, the food was all Scott, he thought it might jog my memory of France. It didn’t, but it tasted great. Please sit down, Cosima, enjoy. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower.” 

“Sure, Delphine. Yeah, go right ahead, there are fresh towels in the bathroom.” 

“Thank you,” Delphine says as she heads upstairs.

Cosima turns to Scott. “French toast? Really?”

“Hey, I figured it was appropriate,” Scott shrugs.

“Scott, man, this is not a dream? Delphine is actually freakin’ alive? She’s alive?” Cosima yelps.

“Calm down there, Dr. Frankenstein. Yes, she’s alive. And she makes a damn fine pot of coffee,” Scott says as he takes another sip of his. “I wonder how she even knows how to make it.”

“Yeah, that’s my number one question in life, how does my suddenly living doll know how to make coffee? Not, say, how the hell is my doll now very much walking, talking, breathing, and taking a shower in my bathroom?” Cosima retorts. 

“True, yeah, this is all super bizarre. What are you planning to do with her today?” Scott wonders.

“Well, I told her I’d take her to the mall. All she has to wear is that lab coat and the white tank top and black pants she had on underneath. My mom’s clothing from Chicos is definitely not what a 17-year-old girl wants to be seen in. Though she did look nice in that nightgown,” Cosima finishes dreamily. 

“Yeah, she certainly did,” Scott responds with a knowing smile. “You know, before you came down here, she was talking about you.” 

“What? She was? What did she say?” Cosima blurts out excitedly.

“Well, just that you’re very sweet. That most people wouldn’t allow a stranger in their home, let alone their guest room, so you must be somebody special.” Cosima blushes at his words. “And that she really does feel like she knows you. That’s strange, right? The knowing you part, I mean. You think she’s somehow remembering you from her time on your shelf?”

“How could that even be possible, Scott? Dolls don’t think, or feel, or have any awareness. They’re inanimate. Come on, you know this.”

“I know, but she’s clearly not inanimate anymore. Oh, and you know what was super weird? We were talking about your hair, she was fascinated with your dreads, and I oft-handedly mentioned that she should have seen you last Halloween when you were Princess Leia with your hair in the buns. She actually said, and I quote, ‘Oh, I’m sure she was adorable.’ So of course I asked if that meant she’s seen Star Wars and she said yes, that she loved it. She was surprised that she remembered it though. Like, how is that possible?”

“Did she really say adorable?” Scott nods and Cosima smiles at that for a moment, then shouts. “No way!” 

“What?” Scott asks startled.

“I watched it with her,” Cosima says incredulously.

“What do you mean? You watched Star Wars with Dollphine?” That remark earns another glare from Cosima. “What? Come on, I had to, it’s too perfect.” Scott says joyfully.

“Yes, with the doll her. My dad rented it when I was 11. It was going to be my first time seeing it. I remember I was so excited when he yelled up to me, announcing the movie was starting. I had been playing with Delphine at the time, telling her what I knew about the movie, and then I brought her downstairs and sat her next to me on the couch. Kinda like I wanted her to see it with me. Ugh, I sound so stupid.” Cosima brings her palms to cover her face.

“No, Cosima, you sound like a little girl who wanted to share a special moment with her special doll,” Scott says sweetly.

“But this makes no sense, none of this makes any sense. And her reciting the elements like that last night; I realized when we were upstairs in my room that she used to look directly at the periodic table above my desk. This is unfreakinbelievable man. You know, when I woke up, I really did think everything that happened last night was just a bizarre dream. But a part of me, deep down inside, didn’t want it to be a dream. And when I saw her standing in my kitchen, my heart skipped a beat. She’s just so amazing.” Cosima takes a deep breath before continuing. “I used to talk to her like she was a friend, like she could understand me. I mean there was this look in her eyes, a look like she was listening to every word I said. And I just kept wishing she could talk back. And now, well, now she is and this is incredible, but it’s also really scary. I mean, how long can this go on? Something’s gotta give. Stuff like this doesn’t happen in real life.”

“Slow down, Cosima. She hasn’t even been here a full day yet, just enjoy the now, stop worrying, we have plenty of time for that once your parents get back.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Cosima groans.

“Look, all I’m saying is, live in the moment, whatever happens later, happens. But right now there’s a girl upstairs who is very real and very alone. She needs you, so forget about the whys and focus on making this current reality as normal as possible for her.”

“You know, Scotty, I hate it when you’re right.”

“Yeah, I know. Go get ready; you’ve got a girl to take shopping. I’m going to spend the day online, see if I can try to figure out what may have caused this, see if it has happened anywhere else.”

“Hey, maybe you should dig around on my dad’s computer, find out what the purpose of that machine is.”

“Good idea.”

“Thanks Scott. For everything.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Scott says as Cosima pulls him into a hug. Just then Delphine enters the kitchen. 

“Delphine!” Cosima exclaims as she pulls out of the embrace. 

“Sorry, am I interrupting?” Delphine asks shyly.

“No, not at all I was just thanking Scott for, uh, for cleaning up last night. And now I will just run and get dressed so we can head to the mall.”

“Cosima, wait!” Delphine cries out just as Cosima starts towards the stairs. 

“Is something wrong, Delphine?” Cosima asks worriedly.

“Yes, I’m afraid I can’t go shopping with you,” Delphine says sadly.

“Why not?” Cosima asks.

“I don’t have any money.”

“Oh, right, yeah, of course you wouldn’t have money. Look, no worries, my parents got me a credit card for emergencies, we can use that.” 

“Cosima, I hardly think buying a stranger clothing constitutes an emergency,” Delphine says seriously.

“I disagree. Don’t fret, I’ll come up with an explanation for the charges and pay them back. It’ll be fine, really,” Cosima assures.

“Ok, but nothing too expensive, I don’t want to be a financial burden on top of the burden I already am for intruding on your life like this.” 

“You’re not a burden, honestly. We can go to H&M or something.”

“H&M?” Delphine asks quizzically.

It’s a clothing store. The prices there are reasonable and their stuff is a lot more age appropriate for you than my mom’s clothing. Sit tight, I’ll be back in a flash.” With that, Cosima runs upstairs to get ready, 

Delphine’s eyes remain staring in the direction she left. 

“Um, so, Delphine,” Scott interrupts her far off gaze, “I bet you’re glad it’s no longer raining, looks like it should be a beautiful day.”

“Oui, it is lovely outside.” Delphine pauses and then continues hesitantly. “Scott?”

“Yes Delphine?”

“Do you think Cosima is sincere, about me not being a burden I mean? I feel like she’s uncomfortable around me.”

“No way! If there’s one thing Cosima definitely isn’t, it’s insincere. She’s a straight shooter. I think she’s just concerned,” Scott answers.

“Concerned?”

“Yeah, about your memory and all, how you got here. She just wants to make sure you’re ok. Cosima has always been the type of person who looks out for others. In fact, we met because she saw some older kids picking on me when we were in elementary school. She stood up to them and, in return, they broke her new eyeglasses. They could have really hurt her, but she didn’t care. I was just the new, dorky kid at her school, she didn’t know me, but she instinctively stepped in to help me against boys much bigger than her. If you think she’s small now, you should’ve seen her back then.”

“I can imagine,” Delphine softly responds.

“That’s just who she is. That’s Cosima. So don’t worry. I know she just kinda met you and all, but I can tell she really cares about you,” Scott finishes and Delphine smiles as Cosima returns to the kitchen.

“Alright, who’s ready for shopping?” Cosima asks cheerfully.

“I am!” Delphine giddily replies.

“Great, Mademoiselle, let’s hit the road.”

“Wait! You said something last night about your crappy driving. How are we getting there?” Delphine worries.

“Oh, I may be crappy at it, but I still drive. Just took me a few, ok, five tries to pass the road test and get my license, but I do have it. I kinda sorta banged my dad’s car up practicing, though, so he gave me Grandma’s old station wagon, figures I’ll be safe on the road in that beast. So, I may not have the fanciest set of wheels, but it’ll get us where we need to go. Shall we?” Cosima extends her arm towards the front of the house.

Delphine takes a deep breath before heading for the front door with Cosima.

“Buckle up, Delphine. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride,” Scott yells after them. 

“Merde!” Delphine exclaims as the door to the house closes behind them.


	4. Welcome to the Shopping Trip

15 minutes after leaving the house, Cosima pulls into a parking spot at the mall, while Delphine is white knuckling the center console with her left hand and the door handle with her right. 

“We’re here! That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Cosima asks joyfully.

“No, not bad at all. That is if you’re idea of not bad is narrowly avoiding hitting a dog, 3 pedestrins, a postman, and an ice cream truck,” Delphine remarks tensely.

“Hey, I think the key takeaway is that I avoided them all.” Cosima smirks.

“Yes, this is true, Cosima, but the postman was on the sidewalk.” 

“Sorry, sorry, my bad, got distracted there for a sec.” 

“Please don’t do that again,” Delphine pleads.

“I promise, from now on, I will keep my eyes on the road.” 

“No, I meant drive,” Delphine says dryly.

“Hardy har har. Well, I think we’ve solved the mystery of who Delphine is. She’s a comedian. Quick, call the Laugh Factory; see if they’re missing a young, blonde, French stand-up comic,” Cosima mocks, causing Delphine to chuckle. 

“Ok, fine, I’ll trust you to get us back home safely,” Delphine acquiesces. 

“Great, now let’s go shopping,” Cosima says as she takes her seat belt off. Delphine follows suit and they both exit the car and head into the mall. They make their way through the long hall of stores, Delphine completely in awe of her surroundings, before ending up at H&M.

“Alright, here we are. Look around, see what strikes your fancy.” Cosima gestures to the store.

Delphine tentatively steps in and starts to look at all the clothing. She’s a bit overwhelmed, but then begins to find pieces she likes. Meanwhile, Cosima wanders off to browse through the accessories, sneaking occasional glances at Delphine across the store. She laughs as she sees Delphine approaching her 15 minutes later, arms full of clothing. 

“Damn, Delphine, I guess you caught on quick to the whole shopping experience. And I think we’ve established that your style is distinctly black and white,” Cosima says, noticing the glaring lack of any other color. “Go ahead and try them on.” 

“Will you come with me, let me know what you think?” Delphine asks shyly. 

“Sure, sure.” Cosima leads her to the fitting room.

Delphine heads into a stall and begins trying on the clothing she amassed, stepping out to get Cosima’s opinion after every outfit. Each one earns an enthusiastic thumbs up from Cosima.

“So, I guess you knew your size, everything seems to fit.”

“Actually, I asked one of the sales girls what size I should get. Played the naïve French traveler. She knows her stuff, I guess.=,” Delphine shrugs.

“Clearly,” Cosima responds. “Is that all of it?”

“One more,” Delphine says as she heads back in to the stall. She returns two minutes later, while Cosima is playing Words With Friends on her phone. “Cosima, can you, um, help me with the zipper.”

“Sure,” Cosima says while hitting play to send her word and then looking up at Delphine.  
“Whoa!” Cosima exclaims as she catches sight of Delphine in a sleek black and white sleeveless dress, hem hitting just above the knee. 

“Does it look bad?” Delphine gasps. 

“No, not at all. You look great. Turn around, I’ll zip you up.” Delphine turns her back to Cosima. Cosima reaches her hand up to the zipper and, as she pulls it up, she can’t help but notice the freckles in its path. Cosima feels her mouth going dry and swallows strongly, trying to restore some moisture. “Ok, all zipped.” Cosima says as she quickly backs away.

Delphine turns back around to face Cosima. 

“It fits you like a glove, almost like that dress was made for you. Definitely a keeper.” 

Delphine smiles and nods, then motions for Cosima to help again with the zipper. She heads back to the stall to change. She comes out and, as she and Cosima are leaving the dressing room, they are stopped dead in their tracks. 

“Cosima?” A girl yells in a questioning tone. 

Cosima looks up and groans under her breath before responding. “Hello Aynsley.”

“I didn’t take you for the H&M type, given your more bohemian style,” Aynsley states, then notices Delphine. “Who’s this?” 

“My friend’s name is Delphine and she’s the one doing the shopping today,” Cosima answers.

“I haven’t seen you around before Delphine, what’s your story?” Aynesly asks intrusively.”

“I, uh –“ Delphine stammers out before being cut off by Cosima.

“She’s French, she’s an exchange student staying with my family and will be starting school with us on Monday. She just got here last night,” Cosima spews out, unable to think of a better cover story. 

“Wel-come to A-mer-i-ca, I am Ayn-sley, nice to meet you,” Aynsley says slowly, enunciating each syllable carefully. 

“Aynsley, Delphine speaks perfect English, you don’t have to talk to her like she’s an alien. She can understand everything you’re saying, right Delphine?” Cosima turns to Delphine.

“Que?” Delphine says confusedly. A look of shock appears in Cosima’s eyes before Delphine starts laughing. “Yes, I can understand you.” This causes a huge grin to spread across Cosima’s face.

Aynsley, not quite getting the joke, continues, “I’ve always wanted to visit Paris, you’ll have to tell me all about it. So, you’ve got a lot of clothes there, didn’t you pack enough for your trip?”

“The airline lost her luggage, hence the emergency trip to the mall. We really have to get going. Pleasure as always, Aynsley.” Cosima reaches for Delphine’s hand and starts yanking her towards the register. 

“Nice meeting you, Delphine. Can’t wait to chat more at school.” 

“Nice meeting you too, Aynsley. That’s a beautiful scarf you’re wearing, see you around,” Delphine shouts as she’s dragged off. 

“Yeah, nice scarf, let’s hope it chokes her,” Cosima says once out of earshot. 

“I take it you don’t like her very much?” Delphine laughs. 

“She’s a nosy, busybody gossip. The whole school is going to know about you pretty soon. Ugh, I’m so sorry, exchange student was the best I could come up with at the spur of the moment,” Cosima states apologetically.

“That was a good cover and, actually, I would really like to go to school with you.” 

“You would?” Cosima asks incredulously. 

“Yes. I love learning, well, I think I do. And being in a school atmosphere might help jog my memory.”

“Alright, it’s worth a try I guess, if you really want to. Well now we just have to figure out how to officially make you an exchange student at my school. That should be interesting.” Cosima pays for the clothing. Next they stop and buy a pair of sneakers at Lady Foot Locker, since Delphine only has high heels. They grab a few other necessities and then stop to pick up Taco Bell from the food court to bring back home for dinner. Cosima orders for a thoroughly confused Delphine, assuring her she’ll love it.

As they walk through the parking garage to Cosima’s car, Delphine starts chuckling, earning a quizzical look from Cosima. “You should have seen the look on your face when I pretended not to understand English.” 

“Oh man, I thought I was going crazy, like I just imagined we’d been conversing this whole time. You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d actually really believe you are a comedian.” 

“But you don’t know better, right? I mean we don’t know who I really am,” Delphine says solemnly.

“Uh, yeah, right, I guess we don’t know. Don’t worry though, we’ll figure this whole mystery out. It’ll all be ok,” Cosima says warmly, patting Delphine’s shoulder as they arrive at the car, earning a nod from Delphine as she puts her shopping bags in the trunk and they get in the car. 

They arrive back home swiftly, with only one stomach-churning swerve along the way, but all in all, a lot better than the earlier drive. 

“See, got you back in one piece,” Cosima happily states. 

“Yes, that was certainly an improvement,” Delphine agrees.

They get out of the car and grab the bags from the trunk before heading back into the house.

“Yo Scotty, we’re back and we stopped at the border!” Cosima yells cheerily.

“Taco Bell?” Scott yelps as he meets them in the foyer. “You sure know the way to a man’s heart.” 

“Hey, chill, that’s for all of us,” Cosima admonishes with a slap to Scott’s hand as he reaches into the bag.

“Sorry, got carried away. So Delphine, I take it the shopping trip was a success?” Scott says as he acknowledges her shopping bags

“Oui, Cosima was nice enough to purchase all this for me,” Delphine smiles at Cosima. “Though I swear I will pay you back as I promised.”

“Don’t worry about that right now, just enjoy the new threads,” Cosima says. “Go put it all up in your room. We’ll set the table for dinner.” 

Delphine heads upstairs with her bags and Cosima turns to Scott. “So, any luck online or with my dad’s files?”

“Sorry Cosima, there’s shockingly been no other reported cases of dolls coming to life and I couldn’t break into your dad’s files, they’re heavily encrypted,” Scott states as they walk towards the kitchen.

“Damn it. I mean of course there’s nothing like this happening anywhere else, but my dad’s files must hold some answers. We’ll have to work on breaking through the encryption. In the meantime, we’ve kinda sorta got another issue to deal with.”

“What now?” Scott asks worriedly.

“We ran into Aynsley at the mall. She started asking questions about Delphine so I just blurted out that she was an exchange student and will be joining us at school starting Monday. With her big mouth, everyone will know about our visitor pretty soon. It’s probably already in her stupid neighborhood blog.”

“Oh great, well maybe you can just tell Aynsley plans changed and she had to go back to France,” Scott suggests.

“Well, here’s the kicker. Delphine wants to go school.” 

“What?” Scott asks incredulously.

“Yeah, she thinks being in school might help recover her memory. This is such a mess. She has no past to recall and that’s all she wants, to remember who she is. I feel horrible, Scott.” 

“I know, me too. But how are we supposed to suddenly bring an exchange student no one has ever heard of, or is even expecting, to school?”

“Well, I was thinking..,”

Scott cuts her off, “Oh no. You thinking. This can’t be good. You’re about to get us in deep shit, aren’t you?”

Cosima just waggles her eyebrows devilishly in response.


	5. Breaking & Entering

“Alright, Cosima, hit me with your plan.” 

“Remember last year when Cal hacked into the records and fixed Sarah’s math grade so she wouldn’t have to go to summer school?” Cosima asks Scott. “I think we should give him a call for some tips on how he did it.”

“I don’t know, Cosima. What if this blows up in our faces and they won’t let us graduate?” Scott worries.

“Look Scott, first of all, if we go in with that attitude, we will get caught. So let’s think positively. Secondly, on the off chance we do get busted, I promise to take all responsibility, this won’t touch you,” Cosima swears.

“No, if we do this, we’re in it together,” Scott insists. “But can we save the scheming for tomorrow? Let’s just eat and take it easy the rest of the night.”

“You got it. I’m starving anyway,” Cosima says, then yells, “Hey, Delphine, time to eat!”

Delphine hurries downstairs and joins Cosima and Scott at the kitchen table. 

As they eat, Cosima looks over at Delphine. “So, what do you think?”

“Mmm, I quite like it. These, eh, Doritos Locos Tacos, were a good choice, Cosima,” Delphine smiles.

“Yes! I knew you’d like ‘em,” Cosima says triumphantly. 

“Who wouldn’t?” Scott says, his mouth full of taco, earning laughs from the girls.

They finish their meal and Cosima suggests they watch a movie. “How about The Avengers?” 

“I’m down,” Scott says.

“I’m not familiar with it, but it’s fine with me,” Delphine adds.

“Great! It’s on Netflix, I’ll pull it up.” Cosima rushes into the living room and gets the movie ready. 

They spend the next 2 ½ hours chomping on popcorn while watching the movie, with Cosima catching Delphine up on the histories of the characters throughout. 

“So the villain is Thor’s brother?” Delphine asks.

“Yes, Loki found out he was adopted and that he was really the son of this bad dude named Laufey and, well, he sort of goes ballistic on this mad power trip and actually tried to kill Thor, but he was thwarted and eventually that brings us to where we are now. Maybe one day we should have a marathon, watch all the Marvel movies that led up to this one, it’s kind of hard to explain all of this,” Cosima breathes.

“Ok, one day,” Delphine replies with a smile.

As the movie winds down, the three of them find it hard to keep their eyes open. Scott falls asleep on his end of the couch, while Cosima starts nodding off and manages to plop her head atop Delphine’s shoulder. Delphine looks over at the peaceful looking face attached to the head on her shoulder and decides it’s probably best not to wake her. She carefully removes Cosima’s glasses and places them to the side, then she grabs a throw blanket and drapes it over both their bodies. Soon Delphine finds sleep overtaking her as well and dozes off.

The next morning, Cosima opens her eyes and slowly realizes she is not in her bed and her head is definitely not on her pillow. Her eyes look up and to the left to find a mass of golden curls, it then hits her that she is laying on Delphine’s shoulder. She suddenly jerks her head up causing Delphine to startle awake. 

“Oh man, I am so sorry,” Cosima apologizes. “I did not mean to sleep on you like that.”

“Non, non, it’s fine, you looked so content, I didn’t want to move you,” Delphine sweetly replies. She then reaches over to where she placed Cosima’s glasses and hands them to her. 

“Thanks,” Cosima says sheepishly as she puts them on. “I don’t make a habit of falling asleep on people. I hope I didn’t make it impossible for you to sleep.”

“I slept fine, don’t worry,” Delphine insists. “Looks like Scott slept well, too.” She nods towards their still sleeping companion. 

“Well if we’re up, he should be too,” Cosima says as she sneaks over to Scott, bends down towards his ear, and screams, “Scott, wake up!”

Scott jumps, yelling, “What, what happened?”

Cosima and Delphine laugh at his horrified face. “Just making sure you’re still breathing there, Scotty,” Cosima teases.

“Yeah, well you do that again and I just might not be.” Scott gets up and heads for the bathroom. 

The girls go into the kitchen and Delphine gets the coffee maker going. Cosima grabs a box of Rice Krispies and sets out 3 bowls, spoons, and a carton of milk. Once the coffee finishes brewing, Delphine pours 3 mugs and sets them on the table. The girls then sit down, with Cosima grabbing her mug and taking a sip. “Mmm, sooo good. You really do make the best coffee, Delphine.”

“I’m happy to contribute, it’s the least I can do,” Delphine replies with a smile.

“So, Delphine, I assume you’ve never had Rice Krispies before.” 

“Not that I can recall.” 

“Ok, well the only thing you really need to know about Rice Krispies is that unlike your run-of-the-mill cereal, Rice Krispies are magical.”

“Magical? How so?” Delphine inquires, brow raised.

“They sing to you.” 

“Sing? That’s impossible. Are you teasing the amnesiac.” 

“Trust me, Delphine, nothing is impossible. Get ready for your mind to be blown.“ 

Cosima dumps cereal into Delphine’s bowl. “Ok, now pour some milk in and listen very closely.”

Skeptically, Delphine pours the milk into her bowl and then leans her ear down towards the bowl. Her eyes go wide. 

“See? They’re singing. Snap, crackle, pop,” Cosima announces excitedly.

“Snap, crackle, pop. Oui, that is incroyable,” Delphine responds giddily.

“They taste pretty great, too.” Cosima says as brings her spoon to her mouth. 

“I really like your crazy food, Cosima.” Delphine says with a smile as she dunks her spoon in the cereal. 

As the girls are eating, Scott enters the kitchen. “Cosima, your phone was blowing up on the coffee table.” He hands her the phone.

Cosima unlocks it and sees 12 unread texts. “Oh no!”

“What is it?” Scott asks.

“There’s a couple texts from my parents checking to see if I’ve burned the house down and then I’ve got a bunch from Alison and Tony asking about a certain French exchange student. Aynsley obviously has been running her mouth. We better get down to business on making this foreign exchange student a reality.” 

Cosima quickly responds to her folks, telling them she’s fine and the house is still standing. She decides to ignore her friends inquiries for now, that’s something they can deal with at school on Monday. The three of them finish their breakfast, get showered and dressed for the day, then gather around Cosima’s laptop on the couch.

“Ok, first we gotta get Cal on the line, hit him up for his expertise. Delphine, we’re gonna keep your name out of this, the less people who know what we’re doing, the better. We’ll just tell him we need to, like, erase a few absences or something. Just gotta get into the infrastructure,” Cosima says as she pulls out her phone and dials Cal. She switches it to speakerphone.

“Hello,” Cal answers.

“Hey Cal, it’s Cosima and Scott.”

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Cal responds. 

“Not much, not much. How’s life at Cal Tech treating you, Cal?” Cosima laughs.

“Ha, ha, first time I’ve heard that one, Cosima. It’s great, but you’re not calling me on a Sunday morning just to get the lowdown on college. What’s going on?” Cal asks suspiciously.

“Well, we kind of have a school situation going on. We may have played hooky a few times too many and don’t want those absences to impact our grades, you know with graduation coming up and all. Can you maybe talk us through how you broke into the system that time you altered Sarah’s math grade?” 

“Oh jeez guys, I don’t know,” Cal responds. 

“Come on man, you know we wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” Cosima begs.

“Ok, fine, but anything goes wrong, keep me out of it.”

“You got it, Cal,” Scott promises. 

Cal then walks them through hacking in the backend of the school’s software system. 

“Dude, we’re in!” Cosima exclaims. 

“Alright guys, be careful, don’t screw anything up, just access your student profiles and then scroll to your classes and in the roll column you should see each date with either a P for present or A for absent, just change the As to Ps and you should be good to go.” Cal concludes. 

“Thanks, man, you’re a lifesaver. We owe you one,” Cosima states. “Talk to you later.” 

Cosima hangs up and then turns her attention back to the computer. 

“Ok, Scott, do you see where we can add a student?”

“Yeah, it’s right here.” Scott clicks add, then chooses exchange student and a new page comes up. “Now we need to enter all her information. First Name: Delphine. Last Name. What should we put?” He glances at Delphine. 

“I don’t know. I still haven’t been able to recall mine,” Delphine responds sadly. 

“Hey,” Cosima pipes up, “Remember that paddleboard instructor we had last summer, Anna? She had a French last name. What was it?”

“I think it started with a C. Cartier. Courvoisier,” Scott offers.

“No, no, those are brands, dimwit. Cor something. What the hell was it? Wait, I got it. Cormier!” Cosima announces. “How about Cormier?” She looks to Delphine. 

“Cormier. Delphine Cormier,” Delphine tries out, before deciding, “I like it!”

“Great, Cormier it is. C-O-R-M-I-E-R,” Scott says as he enters it into the student profile. “Now it’s asking for a transcript.”

“Ok, hand me the compute,.” Cosima orders. She takes it, opens a new window, googles French high school transcripts, downloads one and brings it into photoshop. She then gets to work, making changes to the name, year, and adjusts the grades. 

“Boom! Delphine Cormier, Lycée Louis-le-Grand High School in Paris. And, will you look at that, she’s got killer grades., Cosima announces with a wide smile. 

“Oh my, Cosima, that is amazing,” Delphine says in awe. 

“Thank you, thank you. Pleasure to be of service faking up your transcript,” Cosima hams it up, laughing. “Ok, now for her schedule of courses, let’s put her in all mine so I can help her out with everything she’s missed and we can work on stuff together, you know, since you’ll be staying here, it’ll make things easier. That is, if you won’t get sick of seeing me all day.”

“Non, I could never tire of you, Cosima,” Delphine replies, causing Cosima to blush.

“Wait, what about 4th period?” Scott asks.

“Shit, I forgot,” Cosima groans. 

“What’s the problem with 4th period?” Delphine asks.

“Cosima is such a freakin’ science rock star that Principal Hardcastle asked her to teach the Freshman biology class after their teacher, Dr. Herter, left on maternity leave. He didn’t want to saddle them with a sub who didn’t understand the material, so he asked Cosima to take over since the class fell during her elective,” Scott states. 

“That is very impressive, Cosima,” Delphine remarks.

“Yeah, well, I really only agreed cause I get credit and it looks good on my college applications, and, well, ok, cause I enjoy science,” Cosima adds slightly embarrassed. “But, uh, back to your schedule. Scott, put her in your 4th period then. What do you have?”

“Criminal Law.” 

“Ok, guess you’re gonna learn about our justice system, Delphine. Not at all applicable cause we may be breaking the law right this second,” Cosima smirks.

“Mon dieu!” Delphine exclaims, putting her hands on her forehead. 

“Chill, chill, just messing with you, we’re fine, no worries,” Cosima says, pulling Delphine’s hands off her forehead, before turning back to Scott. “Ok, Scotty, beam all this info up to the school.”

Scott submits the new student info, transcripts, and course schedule into the system.  
It goes through successfully. “Ok, she’s in. Let’s just hope Hardcastle buys it.”

“I don’t think Hardass will be a problem,” Cosima assures.

“Just don’t say that to his face. Alright, ladies, my work here is done, I better head home. See you at school tomorrow,” Scott announces to the girls as he rounds up his stuff. 

“Thanks for everything, Scotty!” Cosima says as she gets up to walk him to the front door. 

“Yes, thank you, Scott. See you at school,” Delphine waves after him.

Once at the door, Scott turns to Cosima and whispers, “You gonna be alright on your own with her?”

“Yeah, yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?” 

“You know, I did get up at one point last night and, uh, noticed you looking very comfortable there sleeping with her.”

“Hey, hey, we weren’t sleeping together, I accidentally fell asleep on her, don’t make it sound scandalous. Jeez, I was embarrassed enough as it is.”

“Ok, ok, my bad,” Scott holds his hands up in surrender. “I was just, you know, considering she’s your dream girl and all, wondering if this is gonna be awkward.”

“Look, I’ll admit, when I first saw her, alive or whatever, yeah I was taken aback, she is beautiful and all, but I’m not gonna like drool all over her or anything.”

“You mean more than you did last night?” Scott cracks. 

“Shut up. Look, what I’m saying is, that whole thing was just my stupid kiddie fantasy, this is our new reality and I intend to just be her friend, help her get by in this mess of a life we brought her into, that’s it.” 

“O-kay, if you say so,” Scott says doubtfully.

“I do. Now go, I’ll see you in the a.m.” Cosima gives him a playful shove out the door. She closes it behind him, then she glances to Delphine, who is sitting on the couch, smiling as she plays with the laptop, looking beyond adorable. Cosima takes a deep breath, “Pull yourself together, Niehaus. Just friends.” She gives her body a big shake before joining Delphine back on the couch. 

“Alright, Delphine, let me prep you on our classes.” Cosima sits down next to Delphine and spends the rest of the night catching her up on their coursework. Eventually Delphine yawns and Cosima takes that as a cue to wrap it up.

“Ok, sleepyhead, I think that’s enough for tonight. We’ve got a big day ahead of us. School starts at 8; we should try to get there a little earlier to get you all checked in.” Cosima notices Delphine looking a little tense. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing, I guess I’m just a little nervous,” Delphine responds.

“That’s understandable. Look, you’ve got me, you’ve got Scott, we’ll be there for you.” Delphine nods, but still looks anxious. “How about this, you get overwhelmed, whether it be the schoolwork, the kids, teachers, whatever, you just shout a code word, and I’ll be at your side. How about snap, crackle, pop?”

“Snap, crackle, pop? That seems a little silly, Cosima,” Delphine laughs.

“You’re right, you’re right. besides, if you recite a jingle, you should probably get paid for it. Ok, how about, um, polonium?” 

“Polonium? Like the element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84?”

“Whoa, detailed much there science girl?” Cosima snickers. “Yeah, it’s kinda my favorite.”

“Why, may I ask, is that your favorite?”

“Well, it was the first element discovered by a woman, Marie Curie. She was a pioneer for women in science and kind of a badass. I mean the two elements she discovered, Polonium and Radium, are both extremely dangerous, and it’s believed that carrying around radium in her pockets pretty much contributed to her death. She dedicated her entire life to science and she was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. How cool is that?”

“And you call me science girl?” Delphine smiles. “You’re right, she is, as you say, cool. And she did spend much of her life in France.”

“See? That’s the perfect code word, with you being French and all,” Cosima responds.

Delphine thinks it over a moment then decides, “Ok, Cosima, polonium it is!”

Cosima smiles. “Awesome! Alright, now that that’s settled, shall we catch some z’s?”

Delphine looks baffled. 

“Sorry, sorry, that means go to bed,” Cosima explains.

Delphine nods, “Oui, bed sounds good.” They both get up from the couch and head upstairs.

“Well, this is my stop.” Cosima says as they reach her bedroom door. “Goodnight Delphine.”

Delphine leans in and envelops Cosima in a hug. Cosima is a little taken aback, before returning the embrace. They break the hug after a few moments. “Goodnight Cosima,” Delphine says softly, briefly staring into Cosima eyes, before heading to the guest room. 

Cosima closes her door, then flops onto her bed. She looks at the wall separating their two rooms, then at the ceiling. “Just friends, Cosima, just friends. Don’t fuck this up.” Cosima whispers to herself before falling asleep.


	6. The New Girl

Cosima wakes up to that now familiar aroma of coffee courtesy of Delphine. Yup, she could really get used to this. This is absolute bliss. This, she thought, was also utterly insane, but nonetheless, this is happening. And today is Delphine's first day of school. With that thought, Cosima glances at her clock, 7:00am shines in a vibrant red.  
   
“Shit! School starts in an hour.” Cosima leaps out of bed, grabs her clothing and rushes out into the hall and straight for the bathroom to shower and get ready for school. 20 minutes later, Cosima is putting the finishing touches on her eyeliner when a knock comes on the bathroom door.

"Cosima, it's 7:20, are you almost ready for school?" Delphine asks.

Cosima opens the door, coming face to face with Delphine, who looks amazing in her new clothing. "I'm ready and you," she looks Delphine over, "look great. Good morning.”

"Thank you,” Delphine smiles. “And good morning to you as well. I didn't want to rush you, I just don't want to be late on my first day. Breakfast is ready, please eat something before we leave.”

Cosima nods and they head down to the kitchen. 

"Mmm pancakes, thanks!” Cosima says as she takes a bite.

“I found a box in the freezer. Just followed instructions, it was nothing, really,” Delphine replies.

“I’m usually running so late for school that I have to skip breakfast, so this is a treat.” Cosima says through a mouth stuffed with food.

After finishing her pancakes and coffee, Cosima jumps out of her chair and grabs her school bag from the living room along with another from the closet. 

“Here you go Delphine, This is my dad’s old satchel, you can keep your school books in it. There’s a notebook and some pens and pencils in there.”

“Oh, this is lovely, thank you. You sure your dad won’t mind.” 

“Nah, not at all. My mom got him a new one for his birthday, so this one’s just been sitting in the closet. Ok, your chariot awaits, time for school.”

Delphine follows Cosima out the door and to the car. “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure my driving will be the least scary experience of the day.”

“That’s not very comforting, Cosima.”

“I’m just kidding, it’ll all be smooth sailing. Just stick with me, kid.” 

They get in the car and head to school, pulling into a parking spot at 7:55.

“Shit 5 minutes to the bell, we better hustle.” Cosima says as she unbuckles and gets out of the car, Delphine trailing behind. They pick up the pace and start to run towards the building. Once inside they switch to a fast walk down the hall, Delphine’s eyes going wide at this new environment. Some boys stop to gape at the beautiful blonde, who smiles shyly and redirects her attention towards the back of Cosima’s head, keeping up her swift stride. Eventually they end up at the principal’s office.

“Alright, I’ll do the talking, you just smile, nod, and agree with whatever I say,” Cosima whispers as she opens the door. 

“Hey, Raj, is Hardcastle in?” Cosima asks the young man at the front desk. 

“Hello, Cosima. Yeah, what should I tell him you want to talk with him about?”

“New exchange student. Needs to get checked in and get her student ID.”

“Hmm, I don’t think we’re expecting an exchange student,” Raj says curiously. 

“Well, dude, she’s here isn’t she? I didn’t just pull her out of my hat,” Cosima says irritated.

“Ok, ok, hold on.” Raj goes into Hardcastle’s office, then returns a minute later, motioning the girls inside. 

“Good morning, Principal Hardcastle,” Cosima says cheerfully. “How are you this fine Monday morning?” 

“Oh just great, Cosima. What’s this about an exchange student?” He asks gruffly.

“Don’t you remember? Delphine Cormier from France is starting today, sir.” Cosima faux-innocently points towards the blonde.

“Bonjour,” Delphine says with a wave.

“No, Cosima, I definitely do not remember, nor are we expecting an exchange student for the last semester of school,” Hardcastle barks as the bell rings. 

“Um, I beg to differ, sir. She was at the top of her class in France and has come to finish out the school year with us while she weighs her offers from some of the top universities in our fine country,” Cosima makes up on the spot.

“What did you say her last name was?” Hardcastle asks skeptically.

“Cormier. C-o-r-m-i-e-r,” Cosima spells out as he types it into the computer. 

Hardcastle scans the computer. “Well, I’ll be. How the hell did this slip by me?” He says, surprised when Delphine’s file appears.

“You’re a busy man, sir,” Cosima responds.

“You got that right, at least someone finally acknowledges it. Well, welcome to Golden Gate High School, Ms. Cormier.” Hardcastle extends his hand to Delphine.

“Thank you. I’m very excited to be here.” 

“Raj,” Hardcastle yells.

Raj rushes in. “Yes?”

“Print up Delphine Cormier’s schedule, take her photo for her school ID and give these girls passes for being late to class. Have a good day, ladies.”

“Thanks.” 

“Merci,” the girls say simultaneously as they follow Raj out of the principal’s office.

“Delphine, please stand on the X,” Raj instructs and Delphine steps onto the mark. “Now say cheese.”

“Camembert,” Delphine says, earning a loud laugh from Cosima. 

“Not a cheese, he meant say the word cheese. It’s supposed to look like you’re smiling when you say it.”

“Désolé,” Delphine giggles. “Cheese.” 

Raj snaps the photo. “Great. This’ll take just a moment to print out.” He then pulls up her schedule on the computer and prints that up for her. “Well, looks like you girls are in the same 1st period class. “ He then writes the girls up a pass for being late just as the card printer shoots out her ID. He hands her the card, schedule, and late pass. “Here you go. I will need to grab you an iPad from the resource room and load your textbooks onto it. I should have that ready by the end of the day, so please stop by once school ends. Enjoy your first day, Delphine.”

“Thank you, Raj,” Delphine says as she and Cosima leave the office. 

Once safely in the empty corridor, Cosima turns to Delphine. “Up high,” Cosima says holding her hand up in the air. Delphine smacks it with a laugh. “You’re in. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No, Cosima, you even had me convinced I really belong here.” 

“You do belong here,” Cosima says, pointing towards her new school ID. “Damn, how the hell do you look so good in an ID photo? Look at mine. I look ridiculous.”

“Nonsense, you look adorable,” Delphine smiles.

“Yeah, yeah, flattery will get you everywhere,” Cosima blushes. “Alright, let’s get this party started. First up: psychology.”

Cosima leads Delphine down several long hallways and up a flight of stairs until they stop at room 211. Delphine takes a deep breath as Cosima swings open the door. The eyes of about 25 students and one teacher glance in their direction. 

“Well, how nice of you to join us Ms. Niehaus,” The teacher exclaims dryly.

“Hey, I have a pass this time, Dr. Bowers.” Cosima hands over the late pass.

“And who is this?” Dr. Bowers asks, motioning towards a jittery Delphine. 

“This is Delphine Cormier, French exchange student. We were just getting her checked in with Hardcastle. 

Delphine steps forward and hands the teacher her schedule and ID. 

“Well, looks like we have a new student. Welcome, Delphine. Now, please take a seat so I can continue the lesson.”

The girls take two seats in the back while the rest of the students are watching them, or, more specifically, focusing their attention on Delphine. 

“Ahem, eyes up here class. Dream analysis…” Dr. Bowers starts discussing the meaning behind dream imagery. 

Delphine pulls the notebook and a pen from her satchel and immediately starts taking notes.

A girl on the other side of Cosima pokes her in the side. “Hey, Niehaus, are you playing tour guide for the new girl or something?” She whispers. 

“Delphine is staying at my house while she’s here.”

“Ms. Niehaus, Ms. Childs, do you want to come up here and give the lesson or do you want to keep your lips zipped while I’m speaking?” Dr. Bowers asks sternly.

“Sorry,” the girls both say in unison and the teacher continues speaking.

At 8:45 the bell rings signaling the end of class. 

“Hi, I’m Beth.” 

“Hello, I’m Delphine, nice to meet you.” Delphine and Beth shake hands. 

“So, you’re stuck with the our little geek monkey, here, huh?” Beth jokes. 

“Oh, you’re a riot.” Cosima sticks out her tongue at Beth. 

“I would not say stuck, I would say I have the privilege of her company,” Delphine responds.

“See? At least someone appreciates me. Come on, Delphine, we better get to our next class. Later, bitch.” 

“See ya, dork. Bye Delphine,” Beth laughs as the girls leave the room. 

“What was that about?” Delphine asks as they walk.

“Oh, that was just Beth. She’s a friend, we like to give each other a hard time.” 

“Americans have a funny way of showing affection.” 

“Well how do French friends show affection?”

“I’m actually not sure, but probably not with insults,” Delphine laughs.

“Yeah, I guess my friends and I are a little weird. Don’t be offended if they end up saying stupid shit to you, that’s just our thing I guess. Ok next up: Trig. Hope you’re good at math.“

They walk into the next class and straight to the teacher. 

“Mr. Riggs?”

“Yes, Cosima,” he answers, putting down the sports section of the newspaper he was reading.

“This is Delphine Cormier, new exchange student joining our class.”

“Oh, ok. Welcome Ms. Cormier. Please sit anywhere.”

The girls choose seats together near the window.

“He seems kind of distracted.”

“He’s probably just thinking about his next charity run or whatever. You know, if you ever fuck up a test in this class, just offer to sponsor him, he’ll adjust your grade immediately.”

“That doesn’t sound very ethical.”

“Eh, that’s just Riggs. He also coaches the track team. Last year he talked Beth into joining the team and then boosted her miserable grade after she won a ribbon at their meet. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is good with numbers, but he’s also just really dedicated to running. You know, if my friend Sarah wasn’t too cool for school athletics, or broke, she probably wouldn’t have needed her boyfriend to fix her grade in algebra.”

“Hmm, I guess I’ll keep the possibility of participating in a jogging in mind in case I have trouble with math.”

“Did you just say ‘a jogging’?” Cosima chuckles.

“Yes.”

“Ok, just checking.”

The rest of the kids file in and take their seats and Mr. Riggs begins the lesson. 

As the class ends, Cosima glances at Delphine’s notes. “Whoa, that’s a lot of info you got there, you following all this?”

“Yes, it’s complicated, but I think I’m getting it.” 

“Ok, we’ve got English next.”

“Ah, yes, you said we are reading Macbeth.” 

“Yes, good old William Shakespeare.”

They enter the class and are immediately greeted by the teacher. 

“Hello Cosima! And I assume this is Delphine.”

“Hi Mrs. S. Yes, finally, someone is expecting her. I was starting worry about this school’s preparedness.

“Raj sent over a revised roster a little while ago. Welcome, Delphine. Since you don’t have the material yet, please share with Cosima.”

“Cosima!” A high-pitched voice calls out from the doorway. “Why have you been ignoring my texts?”

“Oh, hey Alison. Sorry, was super busy this weekend, figured I’d just talk to you today.”

“So is this her?” Alison motions towards Delphine.

“Yes, if you mean her as in Delphine. Alison, Delphine. Delphine, Alison.”

“Nice to meet you, Delphine,” Alison says as they shake hands. 

“And you as well, Alison.”

“So did Aynsley tell you about her?”

“Yeah, I was taking out the recycling when she arrived home from the mall and ran over to tell me about meeting Delphine.”

“Of course she did,” Cosima sighs.

“How are you liking San Francisco so far? I’m sure it hardly compares to life in France,” Alison asks.

“I haven’t done much sightseeing yet, but what I have seen is quite lovely.”

“Hey Alison, who’s this?” A dark-haired boy asks.

“Hello Donnie. This is Delphine, she’s a new exchange student from France.”

Donnie just stares dumbstruck at Delphine. 

“Donnie?” Alison snaps her fingers in front of his eyes.

“Chickens, please take your seats,” Mrs. S announces. 

Cosima drags Delphine away from Donnie’s ogling and they sit down. 

“Ugh, don’t mind him, though I doubt he’ll be the last teenage boy staring at you like that,” Cosima apologizes.

“Today we will be discussing Act 1 of Macbeth, which you all should have read over the weekend. Ms. Cormier, I will expect you to catch up this evening.” 

Delphine nods as Cosima pulls up the play on her iPad and shares the screen. The class proceeds to discuss the setup of the story, Macbeth’s ambition, and Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness.

“Ok, I expect you to read Act 2 tonight and be ready to discuss it tomorrow,” Mrs. S says once the bell rings. 

“So, what did you think of the play so far?” Cosima asks Delphine. 

“The language takes a bit getting used to, but the story is quite interesting.”

“See you at lunch Cosima. I hope you’ll join us, Delphine,” Alison interrupts as she heads for the door. 

“Oui, I’d like that,” Delphine smiles.

Cosima and Delphine rise and head out the door as well. They walk the halls until stopping in front of Delphine’s next class.

“So, you gonna be alright on your own?” Cosima asks. 

Delphine laughs. “Yes, Cosima, I will, but your concern is sweet. Besides, Scott will be here.

“True, true.” Cosima hesitates.

“Really, Cosima, I’m fine. You should get to your class,” Delphine insists just as Scott approaches. 

“Hey Cosima, Hi Delphine.”

“Scotty, just in time. I expect you to take good care of Delphine.”

“Cosima! Go!” Delphine implores. 

“Ok, ok, I’ll see you at lunch.” Cosima turns and heads towards the science department. 

Scott turns to Delphine. “A little overprotective, huh?”

“Yes, a little,” Delphine laughs. 

“Like I said, she just really cares about you,” Scott says softly. “Come on, the bell is about to ring. We have assigned seats, so you should check in with Mr. Rosen and get your seat assignment.” Scott points towards their teacher and Delphine walks over to him. 

“Hello, sir, I’m Delphine Cormier, this is my first day in your class.” 

“Yes, Ms. Cormier, I received the new roster. You’re in luck, we’ve recently had a seat open up with the mysterious departure of Ms. Chen, you will be seated with Ms. Childs.”

“Beth Childs?” Delphine asks. 

“Yes. I take it you know her then. Please take the open seat next to her.”

Delphine heads over to the desk and sits beside Beth. 

“Alright, class, turn to page 26 and start reading over the details of the next case we will be arguing.”

“Well, hello again, Frenchie,” Beth smiles. “Looks like you’re my new partner in crime.”

“Hello Beth, nice to see you again.”

“So basically in this class we work as a team. For every case we get assigned, two of us are chosen to present for the prosecution and another duo are the defense, the rest of the students are witnesses and Mr. Rosen is the judge. Let me give you the 411 on our competition. At that table are Art and Angie, they take the law very seriously, some might say too seriously. Over there are dysfunctional suburbanites Aynsley and Chad.”

Chad turns and winks at Delphine, while Aynsley gives her a big smile and wave, which Delphine more subtly returns. “Aynsley and I have met,” Delphine says. 

“Lucky you,” Beth deadpans. “Ok, then we’ve got Scott, who you obviously already know, and Charity, a cheerleading bitch. At that table is the school’s quarterback, Paul Dierden, and Vic the dick.”

“Vic the dick?” Delphine asks wide-eyed.

“Yeah, major asshole and, actually, it’s kinda ironic he’s taking criminal law, kid’s been arrested more times than I can count. Lastly, we have Rachel and Martin. You’ll want to avoid Rachel, she’s ruthless.” Beth lowers her voice to a whisper. “I think she may be banging Mr. Rosen over there.”

“Banging?” Delphine asks.

Beth laughs. “Having sex with.”

“With the instructor? That… that seems wrong.” 

“No kidding. I’m not sure, it’s just a vibe I get off the two of them.” 

“Wow. So what happened to your former desk mate?”

“Oh, uh, Maggie sorta just disappeared, dropped out or something. I never really trusted her, so kinda glad not to be saddled with her anymore, if I’m being honest.” Beth changes the subject, “Ok, so now that it’s just us here, how is it living with the geek monkey?” 

Delphine chuckles. “Living with Cosima is great, she’s been very welcoming.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Beth grins. “I guess we should review the case.”

The girls then start reading over the class material. As the class comes to an end, Beth and Delphine are assigned as the defense vs. Art and Angie as the prosecution on an armed robbery case.

Beth, Delphine, and Scott walk out of the class and come face to face with Cosima.

“Hey guys!” Cosima shouts at the trio.

“Cosima, isn’t your class on the other side of the building? What did you, like, teleport over here?” Beth asks. 

“No, I walked. So, Delphine, how was class?”

“It was great. Beth and I are partnered together.”

“Good, good. Glad everything is working out and you’re ok.” 

“Jeez Cosima, what are you her mom or something? Of course she’s fine. Not like she hasn’t been to school before. Chill,” Beth says and Cosima quickly glances at Scott. 

“Hey, well, you know, it is her first time in a school here in America, Cosima just wants to make sure she’s comfortable and stuff,” Scott quickly interjects. 

“Whatever. Come on let’s go to lunch, I’m starving.” Beth leads them towards the cafeteria.

Delphine looks over at an uneasy Cosima as they walk. “I really am ok.”

“I know, I know. Sorry, didn’t mean to be so overprotective or whatever. It’s just, I know first days can be kinda rough and you were a little nervous yesterday.”

Delphine gives Cosima’s hand a reassuring squeeze as they arrive at the cafeteria.

“Ok, today is meatball Monday, just follow my lead,” Cosima says as she hands Delphine a tray and takes one for herself. Cosima orders and pays for both of them and then they head over to a table. 

“Oi, Cos. Who’s your friend?”

“Hey Sarah, this is Delphine. She’s an exchange student from France.” 

Delphine smiles hearing the name Sarah. “Ah, Sarah! Hello, Cosima has told me a lot about you. Nice to finally meet you.”

“Don’t believe a thing she said. Welcome to America, Delphine.”

Their table is soon filled with Alison, Beth, Scott, and Art. After a few moments three other students approach the table to join them. 

“What do we have here?” A younger boy asks. 

“Fee, this is Delphine, French exchange student staying with Cosima. Delphine, this is my little brother Felix, my twin sister Helena, and our friend Tony.”

“Hey Doll!” Tony greets Delphine, causing Cosima to choke on her soda. “You alright there, Dreads?”

“Fine, fine, just went down the wrong pipe.” 

“Hello!” Delphine sweetly greets the trio.

Helena leans in very close to Delphine, examining her features carefully. “Have we met?” 

“I don’t believe so,” Delphine replies. 

Cosima jumps up. “Of course not, unless you’ve been spending time in France without telling us.”

“You look very familiar. I will remember where I know you from,” Helena assures, then adds, “I like your hairs.”

“Thank you, I like your hairs, too.”

“So, Cos, when do your parents get back?” Sarah asks. 

“Sunday.”

“Whoa, hold on. You’ve got the house to yourself?” Tony excitedly pipes up. 

“Well, me and Delphine.”

“Yeah, but no parents. Girl, this calls for a par-tay.” 

“No, no, no,” Cosima protests.

“Oh, yes, yes, yes,” Tony insists. “I’ll set it all up for Friday night. You ready for your first American high school party, beautiful?”

Delphine blushes. “Sure!”

Excitement about the party overtakes the rest of the table, with the exception of Cosima who grumbles, “You guys better not destroy anything.”

“Chill girl, I seem to recall you’re the one who brings the firemen to the yard.” Tony laughs.

“I’m never gonna live that down, am I?”

“Nope!” Her friends all tease in unison. 

Lunch ends and they all say their goodbyes. Cosima and Delphine start walking towards the art department for their photography class. 

“Your friends are very…”

“Crazy?”

Delphine laughs. “No, they’re nice.” 

“No, they’re insane, it’s ok, you can say it.”

“No, they’re cute. And, you know, you, Tony and the girls all actually resemble one another.”

“What? You think? I don’t see it,” Cosima insists. “And all those so-called friends are about to turn my house into a freakin' disaster.”

“Ah, I’m sure it will be fine and a party sounds fun,” Delphine says cheerfully.

“I’m glad you're so optimistic. I’ll remind you of this when the inevitable occurs. So, here we are. Ready for photography?”

“Oui, I can’t wait to see what develops.” 

“You’ve been waiting all day to say that, haven’t you, Delphine?”

“Maybe.” Delphine grins as they enter the windowless, basement classroom.

They join Art and Felix at a table as their teacher enters. He immediately notices the new student.

“You must be Delphine.”

“Yes, hello Mr. Kertland.”

“Please call me Benjamin, everyone else does. Here is the camera you will be using. Please treat it like a newborn baby. Handle it with extreme care and return it in one piece at the end of the school year.”

“I will. Thank you, Benjamin.” Delphine takes the camera and rejoins Cosima and the guys.

“Alright, for your next assignment you will work in teams of two. I want a photo essay of 5 images that embody who your partner is. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then consider this equivalent to a 5,000 word biography of your partner all with the click of your shutter.”

“Arthur, would you like to be my partner?” Felix asks.

“Only if you stop calling me Arthur,” Art groans

“But Arthur, I need to capture the real you. I’ve seen your drivers license and the real you is most definitely an Arthur,” Felix teases.

“Well then I guess if I have to capture the real you, there will be a lots of images of your naked ass,” Art volleys back.

“Yeah, you guys seem like a match made in heaven,” Cosima laughs.

Delphine turn towards Cosima. “Would you like to work together?”

“Yeah, of course,” Cosima grins. 

They spend the rest of the period taking test snapshots and practicing developing film. Felix is harassing Art some more when the bell rings.

“Ooh, looks like you’ve been saved by the Bell, Arthur.”

“Oh, so clever, first time in my life I’ve heard that one.”

“Later boys,” Cosima calls out as she and Delphine leave the class.

“They are quite silly. Isn’t Felix a bit younger than us?”

“Yeah, he’s a sophomore, but he’s able to take senior art classes cause he’s kind of an art prodigy. You should see his paintings. There’s actually one of me that’s pretty amazing, though he definitely exaggerated the size of my boobs.”

“I’d like to see that,” Delphine says, then quickly adds, “Uh, the painting not the breasts.”

Cosima chuckles. “I know what you meant.”

“Cosima. Delphine. Hi!” Scott calls out.

“Hey Scotty!”

“Hello Scott.”

“Finally, we’ve reached that point in our school day when the science geeks get to play,” Cosima announces, rubbing her hands together. “Chemistry time. Ready to do some experimenting, Delphine?”

“Oui, can’t wait,” Delphine says happily as they enter the class.

“Hey, Dr. Leekie, this is Delphine, exchange student from France,” Cosima announces. “And now I’m thinking I just should have just worn a t-shirt with that written on it after how many times I’ve said that today.”

“Ah, yes, the mysterious Delphine Cormier who appeared on my roster this afternoon.” Dr. Leekie takes Delphine’s hand. “Je suis très heureux de faire votre connaissance ” 

“You speak French?” Delphine asks, surprised.

“Oui. I have a neuro-lingual chip,” Dr. Leekie responds, leaving Delphine’s mouth agape.

“Bullshit!” Cosima calls out. “He’s messing with you, Delphine.”

“Ah, yes, she’s right, but one day. I have, however, visited France on numerous occasions and picked up some common phrases. So, Ms. Cormier, I assume you are well qualified to be admitted into this class?”

“Dude, she’s hella brilliant,” Cosima quickly interjects. “Top of her class back in Paris.”

Delphine’s eyes widen at the lie Cosima is spouting. Though she may know the entire periodic table and enjoys science, she’s not really sure how she’ll fare in an actual class. She quickly changes her expression to a smile when Dr. Leekie turns to face her. 

“Well, that’s high praise coming from Ms. Niehaus. I look forward to seeing you in action, Ms. Cormier.” His gaze lingers a few seconds, before continuing. “Please join Cosima’s lab table. Turn to page 52 in your textbooks and read over the next experiment we will be working on.”

The girls sit down and Delphine leans into Cosima. “Cosima,” she whispers. “Why did you say that? I don’t know if I’ll be any good in this class.”

“Delphine, there’s only a dozen students in this class and they’re all science nerds, if you’re gonna be in here you’ve gotta be a science nerd, too. Besides, you’re the one who showed up at my door in a lab coat, saying how passionate you are about science. I know you’re gonna kill it in here.”

“What do I have to kill?” Delphine asks, horrified by the prospect.

“No, no, no, it’s an expression. Just means you’ll do really well. There’s no killing going on in here. At least not yet, anyway. Neuro-lingual asshole ever there better not leer at you again.”

“Cosima! I don’t think he was leering. And I thought you liked the teacher, you seemed to have an easy rapport.”

“Eh, I just pretend to like him to stay on his good side, this class is important for college, but, honestly, he gives me the creeps,” Cosima shudders. “And, no, he was definitely leering. He keeps it up and I may accidentally set some chemicals to explode in his face.”

“Your protectiveness is sweet, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.” 

“Fine, fine. But, seriously, Delphine, you ever feel uncomfortable, whether it’s because of Freaky Leekie over there, or anybody, you tell me. Ok?”

“Ok, I will,” Delphine promises. “I’m really lucky that of all the doorsteps I could have ended up on the other night, I landed on yours.”

Cosima blushes. “Oh, I don’t think luck had anything to with it.”

“Well I strongly disagree,” Delphine states firmly. “Now what’s the experiment?“

Cosima turns to the page Leekie indicated. “Oooh, slime!”

For the rest of the period they work on creating a slime polymer. When the bell eventually rings, signaling the end of the period, Delphine has a huge smile on her face and her hands are full of goop. She rushes to the sink to wash her hands.

Scott approaches Cosima, who hasn’t taken her eyes off Delphine. “So, looks like you two had fun.”

Cosima turns her attention to Scott. “Yeah, I think she’s a natural. She got the slime to form on the first try.”

“Well, to be fair, I think you kind of made her that way, with all the stellar qualities you gave your doll.”

“That doesn’t make sense Scott, me declaring her a brilliant scientist can’t just magically make her one.”

“Well you somehow magically made her a real person,” Scott reminds.

“Dude, keep your voice down. Hey, have you had any luck figuring out how to break the encryption on my dad’s files? They’ve gotta hold some answers about all this.”

“I actually was talking to Doomsday and Painmaker in the computer science lab about that and they gave me some tips. I’ll come over tomorrow after school and see what I can do.”

“I can’t believe you just used their freakin’ Rune Wars names, please don’t do that again. Shit, the bell is gonna ring in two minutes, Delphine and I gotta get to P.E. I’ll talk to you later. Hey, Delphine, you all de-slimed? We gotta go.”

Delphine approaches, toweling off her hands. “Yes, sorry, that was fun, but very messy.”

“That’s what she said,” Scott blurts. 

“What?” Delphine asks, baffled.

“Ignore him, he’s an idiot. Bye Scott.” Cosima drags Delphine out of there. 

“Bye ladies,” Scott laughs after them. 

Cosima and Delphine make their way to the gym for the last class of the day. They enter the locker room and Cosima tosses a fresh pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt to Delphine. They change and make their way into the gymnasium where the rest of the class has already assembled. 

“Late again, Niehaus. You must really love jumping jacks,” the gym teacher calls out. 

“Sorry Teddy, I told you I have Chemistry before this, all the way on the other side of the building. Blame whoever made my schedule.”

“Sir, please, it’s my fault we’re late. I got slime all over my hands and it took a while to wash it all off. Cosima was waiting to show me the way down here.” 

“Um, ok. And you are?” Teddy asks.

“Delphine Cormier, this is my first day at your school.”

“Fine, I’ll excuse your tardiness for today, but please get here on time from now on. Go sit down and stretch with the rest of the class. Today we’re starting our 3-week basketball program.”

Cosima and Delphine sit down and start stretching. 

“Cosima, you’re lucky you got Frenchie here to talk your way out of that one, you almost passed out from those extra jumping jacks he made you do last week,” Beth laughs.

“I did not almost pass out, Beth.”

“No, Cosima, you definitely would have passed out if Beth and I hadn’t caught you,” Alison interjects from behind them.

“Look, the body was not developed to simultaneously jump and clap our hands above our heads, it’s unnatural,” Cosima insists.

“You just spend too much time smoking pot and not enough time exercising. You really should join me for Hip Hop Abs.”

“Yeah, sure, Ali. Sign me up. I’ll be there, uh, twenty to never.”

“Alright, Aynsley and Alison, you’re gonna be captains, come up and choose your teams,” Teddy orders. “Aynsley, you go first.”

When they’re done selecting, Aynsley’s squad consists of Charity, Delphine, Angie, Sarah Stubbs, and Meera. Alison’s has chosen Beth, Sarah, Cosima, Helena, and, reluctantly, Rachel.

Beth looks between her side and the other. “Um, I just want to point out the glaring height difference between their team and ours. Maybe we should call ourselves the Golden Nuggets.” 

“Well, since we’ve got Delphine, I think we should call ourselves the Eiffel Towers,” Aynsley suggests with a moronic smile. 

“Ok, today you’re going to practice shooting skills. Nuggets, take that basket, Towers, you’re over there,” Teddy instructs the girls, who move to the indicated sides of the court.

As the Nuggets take turns shooting the ball, Cosima keeps glancing over at Delphine on the other side of the court, smiling as she sees Delphine get the hang of bouncing the ball. 

“So, Cos, I take it things are going real well with you and Blondie, eh?” Sarah asks, noticing Cosima’s lack of focus on their task.

“Yeah, we’re getting along well,” Cosima answers.

“Uh huh, ‘getting along,’ is that what they’re calling it now?” 

“What are you trying to imply?”

“Oh, just that every time I’ve seen you today you can’t seem to take your eyes off her.”

“I can take my eyes off her, it’s just that it’s her first day and I want to make sure she’s managing ok.”

“Come on, how long have we known each other? You gonna tell me you don’t have a thing for her?”

“A thing? No, Sarah, I don’t have a thing for Delphine. I’ve only known her like 3 days, that’s hardly time to develop a thing. We’re just friends.”

“Whatever you say,” Sarah scoffs.

“Hey, you two gonna keep chatting or shoot the ball?” Beth yells, bouncing the ball towards Cosima. 

Cosima takes the ball, bounces, and shoots an airball. 

“Ok, yeah, remember not to throw the ball to her when we’re actually playing. Cosima, you should probably just defend,” Beth states.

Meanwhile, Delphine is really getting a handle on shooting, she nails a 3-pointer just as the bell rings, impressing Aynsley. “Wow, Delphine, you’re really good. I knew picking you would be a wise decision. You know, we really should get together one day after school. I’d love to hear all about Paris: the food, the museums, the men.” 

Delphine doesn’t know how to respond, as none of those 3 topics are something she can recall enough to discuss. Just then Cosima swoops in. “Hey, Delphine, we really better get changed. We need to go meet Raj to pick up your iPad.”

“Oh, yes. Bye Aynsley,” Delphine says as Cosima leads her to the locker room. 

“How many times you think I’m gonna have to rescue you from that girl?”

“She’s not so bad,” Delphine says, earning a skeptical look from Cosima. “Ok, maybe she’s kind of pushy, but I just don’t have any answers for her about France. I can’t remember anything before showing up at your door.”

“Look, we’ll figure this out, In the meantime, you can just make up stories about your past. Do you know how cool that is? You can basically be whoever and whatever you want to be, create any identity for yourself. At this point, you don’t know any better, and neither does anyone else.”

“That does sound kind of fun,” Delphine responds.

“Hey, that’s pretty much what we’ve been doing up til now with everybody anyhow. Come on, let’s get your iPad and get out of here.”

The girls stop by the office and grab the iPad, then head home. They order a pizza and then get started on homework, Delphine gets engrossed in Macbeth, while Cosima works on writing up the next Biology test for her class. Before they know it, it’s almost midnight and time to go to bed.

“So, after your first day of school, followed by a full night of homework, you still happy about being a student?” Cosima asks.

“You know, I thought it would feel familiar being in that environment, but somehow it all seems really new. I don’t know, it’s silly, I’m sure I’ve been to school before, maybe it’s just different in France. I do actually like it though, it feels fulfilling somehow.”

“You know, Delphine, I think you’re the first teenager to ever describe high school as fulfilling,” Cosima laughs. “I think you’re gonna do alright here. Now close those books and let’s get some sleep. We gotta do this all over again tomorrow.”

The girls then put their books away and head upstairs. They say their goodnights and go to their respective rooms.

Once in bed, Delphine closes her eyes and tries to remember some detail of her life, thinking if she concentrates hard enough she’ll remember her parents, her home, something of her life. To her astonishment, the only image she can conjure is Cosima’s face, but it’s not Cosima as she knows her today. For some reason she pictures a younger Cosima, smiling broadly. And it’s that comforting image that accompanies her as she drifts off to sleep.


	7. The Beth Laid Plans

It's Delphine’s second day of school and this time she and Cosima are just two minutes late for first period. Cosima somehow convinces Dr. Bowers not to punish them for their tardiness by stressing the inherit psychological reasons behind her frequent lateness. As a result, when assigning the students topics for their term papers, Dr. Bowers gives Cosima the Psychology of Lateness to focus on. Delphine’s topic is the Psychological Impact of Immigration, while Beth’s is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

During Trigonometry, Mr. Riggs asks Delphine if she’s ever considered hurdling. She’s not sure what that means, so she says no. He tells her to let him know if she changes her mind. After class, Cosima explains that means running and jumping over obstacles called hurdles as part of the track team. “I think he assumes with your long legs, you’d be a natural.” Delphine isn’t sure that sounds like something she’d enjoy.

As their discussion of Macbeth continues in English class, some of the students are asked to come up and perform scenes. Donnie and Alison are chosen to play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The class is shocked by how convincing they are as a murderous married couple.

Fourth period rolls around and with it comes the girls daily separation. Cosima administers her bio students a test and, while they work on that, she finds her mind wandering to Delphine. That seems to be her normal state of mind whenever she has nothing else to focus on. Meanwhile, in criminal law, Beth and Delphine are working on preparing their defense for their mock trial. Scott and Charity are assigned to be their witnesses and have to prepare statements. Delphine takes note of the way Scott acts around Charity. As class ends, Beth suggests they work more on the case after school and asks if it would be ok if she comes over to Cosima’s house. Delphine assumes it will be fine, but says she’ll check with Cosima at lunch.

Cosima decides not to seem too overprotective today and goes straight to the cafeteria after class. She had loaded money on Delphine’s ID so she can pay for her own food, so she doesn’t have to worry about that. Cosima grabs her lunch, then joins Sarah and Alison at the lunch table. As much as she tries not to, she keeps glancing towards the doors, waiting for Delphine’s arrival. Finally, she sees her walk in, laughing alongside Beth and Scott. They head for the lunch line before making their way with full trays to join the rest of their friends.

“Hi Cosima! Look it’s Taco Tuesday, this is almost like our meal from Taco Bell,” Delphine exclaims as soon as she reaches their table.

“Are you kidding me, Cosima? You took her to Taco Bell?” Alison asks, annoyed. “That is not the way you should be introducing a foreigner to American cuisine. No wonder we get such a bad rap for our poor dietary habits.”

“Hey, she liked it, right Delphine?”

“Oui, very much!”

“See?” Cosima gestures at Alison.

“Delphine, promise me you won’t let this one clog your arteries with fast food?” Alison pleads. “She thinks salad is a dirty word, but I assure you, your body will thank you one day.”

“Thanks for the healthy eating lecture, Ali,” Beth chimes in.

Delphine laughs, “Yes, Alison, I will be sure to eat well.” She then turns to Cosima. “Cosima, is it ok if Beth comes over later to work on our assignment?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Great, thank you.”

Lunch ends, they complete the rest of their classes, then head home.

20 minutes later, the doorbell rings. Cosima opens it, revealing both Scott and Beth.

“Hey, ran into Beth as I pulled up on my bike,” Scott announces as he walks in.

“Tell me you didn’t run here?” Cosima asks.

“What? You know I’m training for the next meet,” Beth responds.

“Delphine! Beth and Scott are here,” Cosima yells upstairs.

Delphine quickly comes down to greet their guests. Beth and Delphine then retreat to the living room to work on their law assignment, while Cosima leads Scott into her dad’s office.

“Alright Scotty, let’s see if you can crack the encryption.”

“We’re in luck. Doomsday, eh, I mean, Kenny, gave me a bootlegged copy of a program today that should be able to crack the encryption,” Scott says as he sits at the computer and sticks the flash drive into the USB port. He then gets to work selecting which folder he needs the program to decrypt.

“This is strange,” Scott exclaims several moments later.

“What now?”

“Well, the program is indicating that the file cannot be decrypted using this method. Kenny said there’s only one type of encryption this wouldn’t work on.”

“What’s that?” Cosima asks.

“A government level encryption,” He responds.

“Government level? What could my dad be working on with ties to the government?” Cosima worries.

“I don’t know, but this must be really frakkin' serious. And we messed with that machine. Oh man, this is not good, Cosima.”

“Shit. Shit!” She yelps.

“Cosima, is something wrong?” Delphine yells from the living room.

“Uh, no, nothing, sorry, just got beat out for a first edition copy of The Origin of Species on eBay,” Cosima quickly hollers back.

“Nerd!” Beth exclaims loudly, causing Delphine to shush her.

“I think you only have one option if you want to get to the bottom of what that machine is. You’re gonna have to ask your dad,” Scott advises.

“Dammit. I don’t know, maybe I should drop it altogether.”

“Do you think you can just move on from all of this without answers?”

Ugh, I want answers, I want to know how Delphine is here, but at the same time, I’m kinda scared to find out. I’m just gonna have to weigh the pros and cons in my head and make a decision. No matter what though, I can’t let him know we touched that thing, especially now that the government is involved. And nobody can know the truth about Delphine, she cannot get hurt by all this. Come on, let’s see what they’re up to out there. I can’t think about this anymore today, my head is spinning.”

Cosima and Scott join their friends in the living room where Delphine and Beth are giggling on the couch.

“What’s so funny?” Cosima asks.

“Beth was imitating something Rachel said to Mr. Rosen today about the case we are working on where Rachel is a witness for the prosecution. Beth does a very good posh, British accent. Do it for Cosima and Scott,” Delphine implores, poking Beth’s side.

“Ok,” she clears her throat. ‘Why would I ever be a witness to a crime in that part of town? Rachel Duncan does not go downtown,’ Beth says in her best Rachel voice causing the others to chuckle. “Rosen had to emphasize that she is just playing a part, no one will think she actually stepped foot downtown. But, as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to her and Rosen, I’m pretty sure she’s gone downtown plenty of times,” Beth laughs.

“Yuck, no, I think I’m gonna throw up. Why’d you have to say that?” Cosima asks, horrified.

“I’m telling you, Cosima, he and Rachel have something dirty going on,” Beth swears.

“Speaking of something going on,” Delphine pipes up. “Are you interested in Charity, Scott?”

“Wha - what? Where’d you get that idea?” Scott stammers.

“I saw the looks you were giving her today and just assumed you liked her,” Delphine says simply.

“No, no, no. Scott. You cannot like that bitch!” Beth gasps.

“I’m with Beth on that. Charity is most definitely a bitch,” Cosima adds.

“She is not!” Scott defends.

“Ok, if you can say that with a straight face, Delphine is right, you do like her,” Cosima says.

“Come on, she’s not so bad. And, yeah, ok, maybe I do have a little crush,” he admits.

“I think you should ask her out,” Delphine suggests.

“No, I couldn’t.”

“Why not?” Delphine asks.

“She’s out of my league, she’d never go out with someone like me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, I think she’d be lucky to date a great guy like you,” Delphine encourages.

“She is right about that part, Scott,” Cosima agrees. “But Charity? Really?”

Beth makes gagging noises.

“You’ll never know if you don’t take the chance and ask her out,” Delphine offers, ignoring the other girls’ glaring disdain.

“I don’t know. I’ll think about it,” Scott replies.

“So, Delphine, what about you? Did you leave any great love behind in Paris?” Beth asks, causing Cosima’s eyes to widen in shock.

“Eh… well… um…” Delphine is not sure how to answer. She may have someone, she really has no idea.

“Sore subject?” Beth wonders at the lack of answer.

“Yes, kind of,” Delphine responds.

“Ok, sorry, I’ll drop that line of questioning.”

“Thank you, counselor,” Delphine laughs, causing Beth to snicker.

“Uh, you two are really into this criminal law stuff, huh? You thinking of abandoning science for the law, Delphine?” Cosima asks.

“Non, never.”

“You sure?”

Oui, like a proton, I’m positive,” Delphine replies, causing Cosima and Scott to crack up.

“Help! I’m surrounded by science geeks!” Beth shouts.

“Yeah, you better be careful around us, Beth, or you might become one, too,” Cosima jokes.

“Fuck. Someone get me away from these dorks,” Beth shrieks.

“Wait, before you escape, do you guys want to stay for dinner?” Cosima asks.

“I can’t, my mom is expecting me home soon,” Scott laments.

“My dad is working the night shift, so I’m in. What’s on the menu?” Beth replies.

“We were gonna order Chinese. Delphine’s never had it.”

“Cool.”

Scott heads home and the girls order dinner. The rest of their night is spent eating, laughing, and working on homework together. At 10 o’clock Beth announces she better head home.

“You’re not jogging home this late, I’ll drive you.”

“No way, I think I’m safer jogging than being driven home by you, Cosima.”

“Oh, come on. Delphine, haven’t I been getting you to school safely?”

“You’ve been getting me there, yes, but safely is debatable.”

“That hurts, Delphine, that really hurts. I thought we turned a corner in my driving prowess.”  
“Yeah, we turned a corner. At 75 miles an hour,” Delphine responds and Cosima just sticks her tongue out at her, while Beth laughs.

“Yeah, you’re not driving me. I’ll call a cab.”

“Fine. Whatever. You both suck,” Cosima pouts.

Beth calls for a taxi, which arrives 10 minutes later. They say their goodbyes and she heads out. Delphine is still laughing at something Beth said when Cosima locks the front door. “So, you and Beth seem to be getting along really well.”

“Oui, she’s great,” Delphine smiles.

“Yeah, she is,” Cosima agrees.

Delphine yawns. “I’m exhausted, I think I’m gonna go to bed, if that’s ok?”

“Yeah, sure. Goodnight. See you in the a.m.”

“Goodnight,” Delphine says as she heads up to her room.

Cosima flops down onto the couch. She starts feeling a little threatened by Delphine’s friendship with Beth. “Get it together, Cosima, Delphine is allowed to have a friend besides you,” she assures herself, but there’s something stirring inside her, a feeling she hasn’t had before. Something that feels a lot like jealousy.

“Ugh, you moron, she’s not your girlfriend and she and Beth are just new friends, they’re not dating, they’re working on a project together.” She continues battling with herself. Remembering that Beth has shown an interest in both guys and girls in the past, thoughts start running through Cosima’s head about Beth and Delphine. _Beth can’t possibly be interested in Delphine like that, can she? Why not? Delphine is beautiful, so why wouldn’t everyone want to get with her? Beth was asking Delphine if she was in a relationship. Why would she need to know that? Wait, why do I care? Do I want Delphine? Fuck, do I? I don’t even know if Delphine likes girls like that. For all I know she may like guys. Yeah, that’s the more likely scenario. Even if Beth likes her, she probably wouldn’t return her affections. She probably wants some hot dude. Shit, is this all I’m gonna think about tonight? I need to sleep this off, I’m being an idiot._

With that last thought, Cosima turns off the lights and heads to her room. She has no trouble falling asleep, but her dream is of Delphine. Delphine smiling. Delphine laughing. But then that dream turns into a nightmare. One in which Delphine is still smiling and laughing, but not with Cosima, with Beth. Delphine is holding hands with Beth as they walk the halls of their school. Cosima is following behind them, angry and alone. Suddenly, they stop and turn towards each other, their heads moving in closer and closer. Just as their lips are mere centimeters apart, “The Elements” starts blaring from Cosima’s alarm clock: _“There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium, And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium, And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium.”_ And, as Cosima rolls over and shuts it off, she has never been so grateful in her life to be awoken that early in the morning.


	8. The Delphiant One

Cosima and Delphine arrive at first period a whole 5 minutes before the bell, shocking not only their teacher, but their classmates as well.

“What the hell, Niehaus? You’re actually early to school?” Beth howls as Cosima and Delphine approach their desks. 

“Yup,” Cosima utters as she sits down. 

“This must be your influence,” Beth says to Delphine.

“I can’t take credit for this, she was ready before I was this morning,” Delphine replies. 

“Wow, this is a true miracle. Damn, Cosima, make this a habit and Dr. Bowers will have to change your term paper topic,” Beth continues.

“Dude, I’m on time, no biggie. Drop it!” Cosima angrily blurts.

“Whoa, looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. What’s your problem?” Beth asks, shocked at her friends hostility.

“Nothing.” Cosima’s eyes don’t even look up at Beth, instead they are focussed firmly on her iPad. She can’t bear to look at Beth and Delphine, especially not together, not after last night.

Beth glances over at Delphine and gives her a what the fuck? kinda look. Delphine just shrugs, having no idea why Cosima is acting so cold.

The class begins and Cosima never once acknowledges her friends. When the class comes to a close, Cosima quickly gets up, tells Delphine she needs to use the bathroom and will meet her at their next class. She then darts out of the room.

Beth approaches Delphine. “What is going on with her?”

“I don’t know, she was very quiet this morning as well. She didn’t speak to me on the car ride here and actually focused all her attention on the road.”

“Shit, when Cosima’s eyes are on the road, you know something’s up. Do you think she’s mad about all those bad driver jokes and that I wouldn’t let her drive me home last night?”

“I don’t know, she usually handles the joshing very well. You’ve known her much longer than I have, does she get like this often?” 

“No, she always has a snarky comeback when I give her hell. Maybe she’s just having a bad day, everyone’s entitled to them. Lord knows I’ve had too many to count.”

“I hope it’s not me she’s angry with,” Delphine worries.

“Nah, don’t think that way. I’m sure it’s nothing. Hopefully, she’ll snap out of it soon. I gotta run to Econ, I’ll see later.” Beth and Delphine depart for their next classes.

As Delphine steps into Trig, she sees Cosima already seated at her desk.

“Cosima?” Delphine says as she sits down beside her. “Are you ok?”

Cosima looks over at Delphine. “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Ok, it’s just that back there with Beth and earlier on our way to school, you just seemed, I don’t know, distracted or angry. I hope it’s nothing I did.”

The sweet, soft way Delphine expresses her concern can’t help but get to Cosima, who drops her defenses. “No, Delphine, no, you haven’t done anything. I’m sorry for being moody. I guess I just had a bad dream or something.”

Delphine reaches over and places her hand on Cosima’s shoulder. “Even though we haven’t known one another very long, I hope you know you can talk to me about anything that’s bothering you.”

Cosima looks at the hand on her shoulder, then into Delphine’s eyes, where she finds a warm sincerity. Cosima smiles. “Thank you. Ditto.”

Delphine returns the smile and removes her hand as Mr. Riggs begins the lesson. As the class proceeds, Cosima takes occasional glances over at Delphine. She realizes that neither Delphine nor Beth did anything to warrant her bad attitude and chilly demeanor. It’s not like they were actually acting all couply. It was just a bad dream. Cosima also can’t help but admit to herself that she’s definitely crushing on Delphine. 

During English, Delphine and Cosima, along with another classmate, Sherry, are called up to read a portion of Act IV Scene I from Macbeth with Cosima as the First Witch, Delphine the Second, and Sherry the Third. For some reason, the way Delphine says, “Wool of bat and tongue of dog” in her French accent causes Cosima to start giggling uncontrollably. Soon Delphine catches Cosima’s case of the giggles. They can barely get through saying “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”

“Ok, you cackling witches, that’s enough, go sit down,” Mrs. S says with raised brow. “Chickens, continue reading the rest of the act silently.”

Cosima tries to focus on the reading, but the laughter continues bubbling inside. She eventually lets out a small snort. Delphine glances over at Cosima and sees her pained face trying to suppress a grander laughing fit. She reaches over and swats her arm playfully and whispers, “Something wicked this way comes.” And with that, Cosima erupts once again, laughing so hard tears start rolling down her face. Once again, Delphine joins in on the laughter, throwing an embarrassed hand in front of her mouth, trying to keep from interrupting the class, though several of their classmates shoot them quizzical glances, including Alison, who shushes them. Mercifully, the bell soon rings, saving the girls from making further spectacles of themselves. They rush out into the hall. 

“Oh my god, Delphine. I’m sorry for breaking like that, but just something about your accent and those lines, I don’t know, I couldn’t help it.”

“Don’t apologize, those lines were quite bizarre. And it’s really nice seeing you laugh again.” 

Delphine is smiling so wide and beautifully at her that it strikes something deep inside Cosima. The feeling that if her laughter brings that kind of brightness to Delphine’s face, then she never wants to stop, never wants to be the cause of anything in Delphine other than happiness.

“Well I should be getting to class, but I hope that you’ll keep this cheerfulness up, Cosima.”

“Hey, I’ve got a class of bio students that have to do whatever I say for the next 45 minutes, how can I not be cheerful about that?”

“Good. I’ll see you at lunch.” Delphine gives a little wave as they go their separate ways. 

Delphine arrives at Criminal Law and sits down next to Beth.

“So, did you find out what Cosima’s problem is?” Beth asks immediately. 

“Oui. It seems she had a bad dream that affected her mood this morning. She’s much better now.”

“Well that’s a relief. See? I told you it wasn’t something you did.”

“Yes, thankfully. The last thing I want is to be the cause of her upset,” Delphine says solemnly.

“Cosima is an easy one to care about, huh?” Beth remarks.

“She’s just been so great, welcoming me into her home the way she has.”

“But that’s what she signed up for, right? Hosting an exchange student?” Beth asks.

Delphine’s eyes widen, she had forgotten about the whole exchange student lie for a second. “Oh, yes, but she’s gone above and beyond simple hospitality. It’s hard to explain.”

“Ok, well I’m just happy to hear she’s not still acting like little miss mopey pants.” 

Just then Scott comes in and approaches their table. 

“Delphine, I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday and I think I’m gonna give it a shot. What do I have to lose, right?” He says in a low voice so no one else overhears.

“Oh Scott, that’s great!” Delphine squees. “When will you ask her? What are you going to say?”

“I think I’ll talk to her after class. I’ll ask her to be my date to the party Friday night.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!”

“Oh, yeah, wonderful,” Beth mocks. “Scott, please just think this decision over long and hard during class. I’m telling you, I really don’t like that girl.”

“Well then it’s a good thing you’re not the one asking her on a date,” Delphine says, then turns her attention back to Scott. “Do what’s in your heart, don’t listen to the naysayers.”

“I will. Thanks for your support, Delphine.” Scott then notices Charity walk in and take her seat. He heads over and sits down next to her.

Delphine turn her attention back to Beth. “What is it that you have against Charity? She seems perfectly nice.”

“You’re new Delphine, trust me, I’ve known her a long time. She’s one of the fakest bitches I’ve ever met. I just hope Scott changes his mind before he makes a terrible mistake.”

“Come on, she can’t be that bad and he really seems to like her. Have some faith, Beth.”

“Fine. But when the shit hits the fan, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Delphine just shakes her head at Beth’s negativity. The class starts and Delphine can’t help but look over at Scott from time to time, giddy with anticipation. When the class ends and students start piling out, Scott asks Charity if she would mind staying behind for a sec. Delphine gives him a thumbs up as she heads out.

Delphine and Beth grab their lunch and sit down with Cosima and the rest of the gang at their usual table in the cafeteria. 

“Hey, Beth, I, um, I just want to apologize for this morning. I didn’t mean to be an ass.”

“That’s ok, Cosima, you can’t help it,” Beth smirks.

“Oh hardy har-har, bitch.” 

“Now that’s the Cos I know and love,” Beth laughs and Cosima sticks her tongue out at her.

“Where’s Scott?” Cosima asks.

“Hell,” Beth remarks.

“What?”

“Don’t mind her. Scott was about to ask Charity out when we left class,” Delphine smiles.

“Oh lord, Beth was right, he’s in hell,” Cosima grumbles.

“You are both incorrigible.” Delphine states, then she notices Charity walk in alone. A few moments later, Scott enters looking less than pleased. When he arrives at their table, the girls all stare at him. 

“So?” Beth finally asks.

“She said no,” Scott says wistfully.

Beth looks at Delphine with a told you so expression. Delphine frowns and puts her hand on top of Scott’s.

“I am so sorry, Scott. I shouldn’t have pushed you into that.”

“No, Delphine, it’s ok. I mean, I couldn’t pine forever, right? At least now I know.”

“What did she say?” Cosima inquires.

“Well, I asked her if she would like to accompany me to the party at your place Friday and she said sorry, but she’s not interested in me in that way. As far as rejection goes, it could have been worse I guess,” Scott shrugs. 

“Well I think she’s a fool and I’m sure she’ll regret letting such a lovely guy slip away,” Delphine remarks.

“Thanks,” Scott blushes. 

“Scott’s the lucky one not be saddled with her,” Beth affirms.

“Totally!” Cosima agrees.

Lunch continues in semi-awkward silence as everyone feels bad that Scott was rejected, but no one more-so than Delphine, who can hardly eat. Lunch ends and everyone heads to their next classes. 

As Cosima and Delphine walk, Cosima notices Delphine looking troubled. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? You hardly touched your lunch. I thought you were the one who wanted to avoid bad moods and now you seem to be in one.”

“I just feel guilty. I shouldn’t have encouraged him to ask her out. It’s my fault he just got his heart stomped on.”

“Come on, Delphine, don’t blame yourself. Like he said, at least now he knows how she feels and he can stop pining. Just cause we can’t stand her doesn’t mean she couldn’t have been good for him, although can’t say I’m surprised she’s not, but there was always that minuscule possibility. The kind you’d need a really high powered microscope to see, but still, it existed.” 

Delphine chuckles. 

“Ah, there we go, she laughs,” Cosima says proudly.

Delphine gives Cosima a playful shove. “You are very cheeky.”

Cosima grins. “You like it.”

“I do.” Delphine can’t help but smile back.

During photography, they take turns shooting goofy photos of one another and then learn some new developing techniques. 

When the girls arrive at their Chemistry class, they immediately spot Scott skulking at his table. They approach him cautiously. 

“Hey, Scotty, you ok?” Cosima asks. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Scott, I really am sorry.”

“Delphine, please stop apologizing. I’m a big boy, I can handle rejection, I’ve had plenty of practice.”

“The right girl is out there, Scott. She’ll come along when you least expect it,” Cosima assures her friend.

“Good afternoon, my young scientists. Please take your seats and turn to page 70. Today we will be studying kinetics.”

Delphine and Cosima work together on the kinetics experiment and are the first pair finished. Dr. Leekie approaches their table to look over their work. 

“Very impressive, ladies. Very impressive.” He cocks his eyebrows at them. “Cosima, have you heard back from the schools you applied to?”

“I received acceptance letters from Berkeley, Texas A&M, UCSF, and Northwestern. Still waiting on the rest, including the University of Minnesota, before making a decision. Thanks again for your letter of recommendation.”

“Ah, my pleasure. And what about you, Miss Cormier? Have you selected a university yet?”

“Uh, well, I…” 

Cosima cuts her off. “She’s still weighing her options and is planning some campus visits soon.”

“Well, if you need any guidance in making your decision, please don’t hesitate to come and chat in my office. I can already tell you are very skilled.”

“Thank you.”

Scott and his partner Colin finish their experiment and Dr. Leekie goes to take a look. 

“Yeah, maybe avoid his office,” Cosima says, shaking off chills.

“Cosima, why did you say that to him about weighing my options? I’m not going to university.”

“Hey, never say never. You’re mad smart, you should totes continue your education.”

“I think I first need to figure out who I am before I can figure out my future.”

“Hey, you will. We will. But, in the meantime, maybe you should look at some schools.”

“And what, use my fake transcript with my fake last name to get into college? And pay for it how? Look Cosima, until I know who I am, I’m not going to think about university or anything beyond the here and now. I’ve been searching online, but I haven’t found any report of a missing girl matching my description in France or anywhere for that matter. I can’t understand this.”

“You’ve been searching the internet?” Cosima asks, surprised.

“Yes, I’ve been Googling like crazy on my iPad, but nothing’s come up. I found a site last night where you can upload your picture to a missing person’s database. I did it, so hopefully I’ll get some response from that.”

“Oh. That would be great,” Cosima responds as she feels her stomach squeeze into a tight knot. It’s the feeling of guilt. Guilt for keeping the truth from Delphine and giving her false hope when the reality is she has no family, no life, nobody looking for her. But how can Cosima tell her the truth? How do you tell someone they’ve only been a real person for less than a week? How can she destroy any last shred of hope that Delphine is clinging to? She can’t. So she continues to encourage her. That’s all she can do at this point.

Class ends and they head to phys ed. They change into gym clothes and enter the gymnasium. 

“Oh look, there’s Charibitch,” Cosima points in Charity’s direction. 

“Come on, Cosima. I was hoping she would agree to a date with Scott, but it’s her prerogative to turn him down. It’s unfortunate, but no need for name calling.”

“Whatever.” 

The class warms up and then the two teams head to opposite sides of the basketball court to work on ball passing skills. 

“So, Charity, what happened with Scott after class earlier? I saw him ask you to stay behind,” Aynsley asks. 

“Oh my god, Aynes. He asked me out.” 

“What? For real? What did you say?” 

“Duh, I said no. Like I’d go our with that dweeb. I’d be the laughingstock of the school.” 

Delphine hears all of this and starts seething. 

“What guy would ever want to date me after seeing me with Scott Smith? My reputation around here would be ruined. Scott’s fine as a partner in criminal law, hell he does all the work for me, but as a boyfriend? Ha, I’d rather eat cockroaches. Blech!” Charity mock sticks her finger down her throat and gags.

Delphine has heard enough, she’s sickened by the way this girl is speaking about her friend. It’s Delphine’s turn to pass the basketball; she bounces it - once, twice, three times - then takes the ball in both hands and passes it with all her strength in Charity’s direction. Bam! The ball hits Charity smack in the center of her face.

“Ow, my nose!” Charity cries out, falling to the ground. Everybody in the gym stop dead in their tracks and looks in the direction the shriek came from. Teddy runs over and pulls gently at the hands she has brought up to cup her nose. When he removes her hands, bloods starts pouring out. Teddy yells for Aynsley to get a towel from the locker room. Crying, Charity looks towards Delphine. “What is wrong with you? Why did you throw the ball at my face?” 

Everyone in the class has now gathered around to witness the mayhem up close. They glance from Charity to Delphine. 

“I -I didn’t, I was passing you the ball. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to hit you.”

Aynsley returns with the towel and Teddy holds it to Charity’s nose while helping her up. “I’m going to take her to the nurse. Girls, please go get changed and head to study hall. Class dismissed.” Teddy walks a sobbing Charity out of the gym. The rest of the girls start heading into the locker room to change. Delphine lingers behind. When Cosima notices Delphine is not moving, she walks back to her. 

“Delphine, you coming?” Cosima asks.

Delphine just stands there, staring at the blood on the floor. “You and Beth were right.” 

“About what?”

“Charity is a bitch,” Delphine affirms.

“Um, Delphine, what are you getting at?”

Delphine finally makes eye contact with Cosima. “She was saying horribly mean things about Scott. I just couldn’t listen to her speak so cruelly about such a good person. She should have been flattered to be asked on a date by him, instead she acted like it was the worst thing ever. Something came over me and I threw the ball at her face.”

“Holy shit!” Cosima exclaims. “Holy. Shit.”

“Do you think I’m a terrible person?”

“Are you kidding? You’re a fucking rockstar. The only terrible person is that bitch and you wiped that smug look off her face but good,” Cosima smiles.

“I can’t believe I did that.”

“Neither can I. Oh man, it’s like one minute you’re mild-mannered Bruce Banner and then, boom, tick you off and The Hulk comes out to play.” 

“Are you saying I’m green now?” Delphine asks, thankful she watched The Avengers the other night or she would have no clue what her friend was talking about.

“Yes, oh my god, Delphine. And your muscles, they’re so large and well-defined. But, well, you’re gonna need a new shirt, looks like you tore through that one.” 

Delphine laughs and shakes her head. “You know something?”

“What?”

“I know it’s wrong to hurt another person, but throwing the ball at that horrid girl felt sooo good. So right.”

“I know what you mean.”

“Ah yes, like when you stood up to those kids who were teasing Scott when you first met?”

“How’d you know about that?”

“Scott told me. Guess we’re a lot alike when it comes to defending our friends from cruelty.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t cause much damage to the bullies, more like damage was done to me, or, more specifically, my glasses. But you, Delphine, you had the power to put that girl in her place and you did it. I’m proud of you. But, uh, let’s keep the truth of what you did between us, let everyone else keep thinking it was an accident. Wouldn’t want you getting in trouble for your heroics. And remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“I’m confident you never will,” Delphine assures her with a grin.


	9. A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

The remainder of the school week goes pretty smoothly. Charity doesn’t return and the students gossip about how bad her face must be. Delphine has her moment of feeling remorse, but then remembers the nasty things that girl said, which alleviates her guilt. 

At lunch on Friday, most of the gang is super excited about the party happening later that night, although Cosima is a little nervous about it. Tony insists it will be totally chill. 

After school, Delphine helps Cosima tidy up the house. They make sure to lock up all breakables and expensive items in the hall closet. Cosima also ensures that the door to her dad’s lab is locked. Last thing she needs tonight is anyone messing around down there.

At 9 o’clock, the doorbell rings. Cosima takes a deep breath and opens the door. Tony is standing there holding a keg, behind him are Sarah, Felix, Helena, Beth, Alison, Scott, and Art. Cosima extends her arm, showing them all in. As she closes the door behind them, she feels resistance. She glances around the other side of the door to find what looks like their entire senior class. The rowdy teens push their way inside, chanting “Party! Party!” 

“I am going to fucking murder Tony,” Cosima murmurs to herself, looking around to find the object of her ire. She spots him at the stereo and marches over there. Tony fiddles with the knobs and soon music booms from the speakers. 

“Tony!” Cosima shouts, but he can’t hear her. “Tony!” She forcefully turns him around and pulls him by the hand to the porch. Once they’re outside, she starts yelling. “Dude, what the fuck? You invited the whole senior class? You said it would be chill. This,” she points to the masses inside, ”is definitely not chill.” 

“Relax, Dreads, did you think the party would just be our little group? We are about to graduate, it’s time we did something epic. Let’s show ‘em we aren’t the losers those they think we are.”

“I don’t care if people think we’re losers, I care that they don’t trash my house. I care that my parents don’t come home to a disaster and then ground me until it’s time for me to leave for college. I figured you’d invite some of your stoner friends and whatnot, but not this. I hate most of those assholes.”

“Look, Cosima, it’s one night. Our last night to have a party in high school with zero supervision. Come on. You’re usually so up for fun shit like this, but lately you’ve been super uptight. What’s the deal?”

He’s right, Cosima thinks. She’d normally be excited about a party, albeit a party not in her home, but still, he’s right, she has been tense lately. And while she realizes that tension is all due to the houseguest who used to be her freakin’ doll, she can’t exactly tell Tony that. So instead she just decides to let it go and enjoy the party.

“Sorry, sorry, you’re right. I don’t know what came over me. Let’s party!” Cosima shouts. 

Tony gives her a high five and leads her back inside towards the keg. He fills up two red solo cup, hands one to her and takes one for himself. He holds his cup up. “To having fun!” 

“To having fun!” She repeats and they crash their cups together before knocking them back. 

Tony dances off and Cosima glances around the room. She spots Delphine chatting with Scott in the hall. She refills her cup along two more and heads over to them. 

“Hey you two, drinks?” 

“Thanks,” Scott says as he takes one.

“Delphine?” Cosima holds the other cup up. “You want?”

“I, uh, I don’t know. Should we be drinking beer?”

“No, we shouldn’t, but that’s why we’re doing it,” Cosima says with an eyebrow wiggle. “You don’t have to drink if you’re not comfortable though, no pressure.”

“No, I think I’ll try it. When in Rome, right?” Delphine tentatively accepts the cup from Cosima’s hand and drinks a little. 

“So?” Cosima asks. 

“It’s, um, different. Not the most pleasant taste,” Delphine remarks. 

Just then Alison appears. “Cosima, why would you give Delphine beer? She’s French, she obviously has a much more refined palette. Here, Delphine, I brought Merlot.” She hands Delphine a plastic wine glass in exchange for her cup of beer, handing it off to some football player passing by. 

Delphine takes a sip. Three sets of eyes are watching her the whole time. She looks up. “Mmm, Alison, this is divine. Merci.”

A proud smile forms on Alison’s lips. “You are very welcome. So, Delphine, I have a little situation I was hoping you could help me with.” 

“Sure, what can I do for you?” Delphine asks.

“Well, as you may or may not know, I am playing Fantine in our school’s production of Les Misérables. At rehearsal today, our director, Alexander, informed us that Charity’s mother called Principal Hardcastle to say she will not be back at school for a few weeks. I’ve heard through the grapevine it’s because she’s having a nose job. Anyway, Charity was our Cosette, and we certainly cannot perform without a Cosette.”

“What are you getting at, Alison?” Cosima asks impatiently.

Alison glances at Cosima, then back at Delphine. “Well, Delphine, since you accidentally broke Charity’s nose, and being that you’re French and would bring our show some authenticity, I was hoping you would agree to take on the role.”

“Whoa, whoa, you can’t expect Delphine to take on that responsibility. Didn’t Charity have an understudy?” Cosima interrupts.

“Yes. Maggie Chen. But she seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth, so now we don’t. Look, Delphine, I know I’m asking a lot, but I will help you learn your lines and the songs -”

“Um, the songs?” Delphine asks. 

“Yeah, you know, Les Miz is a musical after all and Cosette has quite a few numbers like Castle on a Cloud and A Heart Full of Love.”

The prospect of acting and singing in front of an audience terrifies Delphine, but she feels that this predicament really is her fault, especially as the damage to Charity was not actually an accident. She feels as though she owes it to Alison and everyone else involved in the production to help them out. “Ok, I’ll do it.”

“Great!” Alison exclaims. “Thank you so much. We meet after school everyday from 3-5 in the auditorium. I don’t have your email, so I’ll send Cosima your script and music. Oh, and we open two weeks from tomorrow.”

“Two weeks?” Delphine gasps.

Yeah, I know, that doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but it’ll be fine” She then spots Donnie and rushes off yelling, “Donnie, what did I tell you about doing keg stands? You’ll hurt yourself.” 

“Delphine, do you just realize you just sold your soul to the hell that is the high school musical?” Cosima asks.

“Come on, Cosima, the musical is actually coming along quite nicely,” Scott interjects.

“Oh, are you in it also, Scott?” Delphine inquires.

“No, no acting for me, I’m part of the tech crew. I’ll be the one shining a spotlight on you.”

“Oh, I see. Well I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

“Yeah, sure,” Cosima laughs.

“Oh, hey guys, look who it is, Mr. Can’t Get a Date Smith.” Chad grunts as he and three other drunk football players approach Scott. “Man, I heard Charity rejected you, that’s gotta sting. But hey, maybe you should try again now that she’s got a busted face.”

“Shut up, Chad,” Cosima says angrily.

He ignores her and continues. “But, if she still won’t date you, I hear there are some fine bitches at the pound that would love to call you their stud.”

“That’s enough. Get out of my house!” Cosima yells.

“Relax, I’m just messing around.” He then turns his attention to Delphine. “Hey sweet cheeks, what are you doing hanging around with these dorks, come hang with us. You know, you and I should really go out some night, I can show you a real good time.”

Delphine looks over at a forlorn Scott, then back at drunk Chad and his friends. “Why would I ever go out with someone as thoroughly deplorable as you? Especially when I am already dating Scott, a true gentleman.”

Scotts eyes go wide and Cosima whips her head around in shock.  
“Come on, you’re kidding. A 10 like you cannot be dating a 1 like him,” Chad laughs.

“I assure you I am not kidding. I was fortunate that Charity made the foolish decision to turn him down, it gave me the opportunity to make my move and ask him out.” She then cozies up to Scott and takes his hand. Scott looks at their intwined hands, then looks up at her face, he’s dumbfounded. 

“Alright, Chad, you’ve been rejected, now get out and take these goons with you,” Cosima yells once more, which gets Tony’s attention. 

He saunters over. “Is something wrong, Dreads?”

“I was just politely asking these morons to leave my house.”

“You heard the lady, beat it.” Tony points to the front door.

“Fine. Whatever. Let’s go guys, this party sucks anyway.” Chad and his friends take off. 

“Thanks Tony.” 

“No prob. Uh, what’s with the hand-holding, you two?” He asks Delphine and Scott. 

“Oh, didn’t you hear, they’re dating now,” Cosima replies.

“What? Wow. Way to go, dude.” Tony fist pumps Scott, then heads back to dance with Sarah and Felix.

“Um, Delphine. What was that about? Since when are we, uh, dating?” Scott asks.

“Yeah, I’d like to know the answer to that as well,” Cosima says.

“That boy and his friends were just so rude and, well, I figure if they thought you couldn’t get a date, I’d show them just how wrong they are.”

“Thanks Delphine. Well, I think we can stop holding hands and pretending to be an item now that they’re gone.”

“Why?” Delphine aks.

“What do you mean why?” Cosima asks.

“Why should we stop pretending?”

“Um, cause you’re not really dating,” Cosima responds.

“Yes, but nobody else needs to know that.”

“Huh?” Scott asks.

“I think it’s time everybody else sees you for the wonderful young man you are. If those morons, as Cosima calls them, think I’m a 10, well then let’s make them jealous of the stud you are.” She winks, causing Scott to blush. “Come on, let’s dance.” Delphine takes Scott’s hand and drags him to the center of the living room. 

Cosima watches as they dance. She’s so focussed on them, she doesn't notice that Sarah has sidled beside her until she’s nudged in her hip. “Hey Cos.” 

“Hey Sarah.” Cosima doesn’t turn her head, her eyes still squarely on Delphine. 

“She’s got some nice moves there, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“So, Tony tells me Delphine and Scott are together?”

Cosima finally turns to look at Sarah. “Kinda.”

“Kinda? What do you mean kinda?” 

“Look, you can’t repeat this, but they’re just faking it. Delphine thought it would show up all those assholes who pick on Scott. Give him a studly rep or something.”

“Well that’s nice of her. But not so nice for you, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Cos, you gonna keep denying you have a thing for Blondie over there? Be straight with me, or, you know, as straight as you can be under the circumstances.” Sarah laughs. “Weren’t you the first person I confided in about me and Cal?”

Cosima considers Sarah’s question, then decides to go for it, she needs to admit her feelings to someone. “Yeah. Fine, fine, you’re right, I like her.”

“Finally!” Sarah shouts.

“Keep it down, jeez. It doesn’t matter anyhow, she’s not interested in me. She obviously likes guys.”

“How do you know, didja ask her?”

“No, but it’s obvious. Like why would she pretend to date Scott if she wasn’t into guys?”

“Um, cause, she’s just helping him out. Being a friend.”

“I don’t know maybe, or maybe she really does like him, despite what she says about just boosting his rep. I mean she told off Chad and his band of merry jerks and well, that’s not the only thing she’s done on Scott’s behalf.”

“What else?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Come on, Cos, it can’t be nothing or you wouldn't have said it. What else did she do for him?” 

When Cosima fails to respond, Sarah’s wheels start turning. “Wait, wait. The basketball. It wasn’t an accident, was it, her hitting Charity in the face?”

Cosima doesn’t respond.

“That’s it, init? Ha! Four for Blondie!”

“You can’t tell anyone, Sarah. Swear it. She can’t get in trouble.”

“Calm your tits, I won’t blab. But as far as those two, I don’t see any passion in her eyes, I see a nice girl doing a nice thing. I don’t think you should be concerned that it’s true love or anything.” 

“Did I say I was concerned?”

So what, you just gonna stand here mooning over her all night or you gonna come dance? I think we need to pull Beth away from Paul over there.”

“What?” Cosima looks in the direction Sarah’s pointing. Beth and Paul are making out in the corner. “Holy shit. Damn.” Cosima smiles, realizing, in retrospect, how silly her dream of Beth and Delphine was.

“What are you smiling about?” Sarah asks.

“Oh, nothing, just, you know, good for her.”

“Whatever.” Just then Water Prayer starts playing over the speakers. “Come on, this is your jam. Show ‘em how it’s done.” Sarah drags Cosima into the living room and they start dancing. 

Cosima let’s go of all her inhibitions and really gets into it, hands swirling in the air, hips swaying. Cosima’s energy is infectious and everyone starts grooving around her. Cosima’s eyes are closed as she feels the music overtake her, but, because they’re shut, she fails to notice a particular set of French eyes focused squarely on her lithe frame as it moves to the beat.


	10. The Aftermath

Cosima wakes up with a pounding headache. She takes stock of her environment; of the blanket wrapped snugly around her body, of the empty red solo cup by her hip, of the cushion at her back, and realizes she has slept on the couch. She pulls off the blanket and swings her legs around to the floor, they land on something that it definitely not the rug she was expecting. 

“Ow.”

“What the hell?” Cosima shrieks, then looks at the ground. “Tony? What are you doing down there?”

“Beats me, guess I passed out here,” Tony says nonchalantly.

Just then Delphine walks out of the kitchen with two mugs of coffee, handing one to Cosima and one to Tony, along with some aspirin for Cosima. 

“Thanks Delphine! How’d you know I needed these?” Cosima asks as she shoves the pills in her mouth and downs them with her coffee. 

“Lucky guess,” Delphine says with a grin.

“Thanks dollface!” Tony says as he sips from his mug.

Cosima looks around. “Um, Delphine, do you know where-“

“Looking for these?” Delphine hands Cosima her glasses.

“Yeah, thanks.” Cosima slips them on and the room comes into stark focus. “Holy shit! This place is a mess. I fucking told you this would happen, Tony.” Just then her phone buzzes on the coffee table. She reaches down and picks it up. “Whoa, it’s 1 in the afternoon?” She then checks her texts. “Shit!” She yelps, jumping off the couch. “My parents caught an early flight, they land tonight at 7. How the hell are the three of us gonna get this place in order by them time they get home?”

“Well, first of all, it’s not just the three of you,” a familiar voice calls out.

Cosima looks back towards the kitchen to see Sarah, followed close behind by Scott, Beth, Art and Helena. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Cosima asks.

“You think we’d just throw a party in your house and leave you to deal with the wreckage?” 

Cosima grins, not sure why she’s surprised by their kindness. “Thanks Sarah. Thanks guys. Have I told you all lately how much I love you?” 

“No, but you’re welcome to keep saying it,” Sarah laughs. 

“Ali wanted to stay and help, but she had a curfew and her mom is taking her to the ballet this afternoon. She did, however, leave us with plenty of black garbage bags and Lysol wipes,” Beth remarks, holding the supplies up.

“And Felix had to get back home or S would kill him,” Sarah adds.

“S?” Delphine asks. “As in our English teacher, Mrs. S?”

“Yeah, Cos didn’t tell you? She’s our foster mum,” Sarah replies.

“No, I didn’t realize,” Delphine trails off, lost in thought.

“So what the hell happened last night? Last thing I remember we were dancing to Water Prayer, then Original Don came on and after that is a total blank. What time did everyone leave?” Cosima asks. 

“Yeah, you got pretty shitfaced, danced on the table, then passed out,” Sarah responds with a chortle. “We kicked everyone out around 2am.”

“I danced on the table?” Cosima considers. “Sounds like fun, wish I could remember. I do however, remember you, Beth, making out with Paul. What’s up with that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Beth responds with a blush.

“Yeah, sure. Alright, we really should get started on this mess, my folks will be home before we know it.”

Everybody gets to work, dispersing around the house, cleaning supplies and garbage bags in hand. 

About an hour later, Cosima notices Helena is missing and goes looking for her. She finds her up in her bedroom. 

“Helena? Whatcha doing in here? This mess is actually mine, not a result of the party, so no need to clean it up. There is a method to my madness,” Cosima laughs.

Helena is staring at the shelf. “It’s missing.”

“What’s missing?” 

“The Barbie I gave you.”

Cosima gulps. “Oh, uh, that hasn’t been there for a while, actually. I mean I’m not a kid anymore, felt a little weird still having that doll up there.”

“Where is it?” Helena asks. 

“Um, I’m not sure, actually, I think my little neighbors may have been playing with it the last time they were over. They must have misplaced it or maybe even took it home with them,” Cosima lies, not able to tell the truth and not sure why Helena is so concerned with a doll she gave her 10 years ago. 

“But you liked her, didn’t you? I remember you carrying her around with you.” 

“Yeah, I did like her, but, like I said, almost 18, so kinda over playing with dolls.”

“She was very pretty scientist,” Helena remarks.

“Yeah. Um, Helena, what’s going on? Why is this so important to you after all these years?” 

“I know where I’ve seen Delphine before.”

Cosima starts to sweat. “Uh, where would that be?”

“Right here. On this shelf,” Helena states matter of factly.

“Excuse me?” Now Cosima’s heart is racing. “Are you implying that Delphine and that doll are one in the same?”

Helena looks at her seriously, then starts laughing. “No, silly, that would be crazy. Delphine reminds me of the doll. Both have such pretty hairs. I wanted her to see it. If you find the doll, please show Delphine.”

Cosima feels her heart slow, a sense of relief washing over her. “Yeah, sure, I, um, wouldn’t have made that connection myself, but good observation, Helena.” 

Helena just smiles and wanders out of the room and back downstairs.

“Holy fuck!” Cosima shakes her head, composes herself, then heads down to rejoin her friends.

About 3 hours, two dozen garbage bags, and 142 Lysol wipes later, the house is back to its former glory. The gang flops down on the couch, exhausted. 

“Damn you guys, we finished with plenty of time to spare. Thanks again!” Cosima says, relieved.

“No prob, Cos, but now I think I need to go home and take a nap,” Sarah says with a yawn, and everyone else concurs.

Cosima walks her friends to the door, hugging each one as they leave. Cosima closes the door with a sigh, then turns around to find Delphine worrying her bottom lip.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Your parents. Are you certain they’ll be ok with me staying here?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, they’ll be totally cool with it,” Cosima assures.

“I hope you’re right.”

“I always am,” she smirks. 

“Cosima, how come you didn’t tell me Mrs. S was foster mother to Sarah, Helena, and Felix?”

“I don’t know, guess it just never came up.”

“Do you think maybe I’m an orphan? That maybe I’m a foster child and that’s why nobody is looking for me?” Delphine asks, a hint of sadness in her voice. 

Cosima feels her stomach drop. “No. I mean I don’t know for certain, but even if you were a foster kid, surely your foster parents would be looking for you.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I’m nearly an adult, maybe they’re just happy to be rid of me. Maybe I was in a bad living situation. Maybe I ran and blocked it all out because it was so traumatizing.”

“First of all, I don’t think anyone would ever be happy to be rid of you,” Cosima states sweetly. “Secondly, you really need to stop jumping to worst case scenario with all the maybes, you’ll drive yourself nuts. I’m sure it was none of that.”

“How can you be sure? Perhaps I should talk to Mrs. S, see if she can help.”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. I mean once you tell her the truth, that you can’t remember who you really are, that your last name isn’t Cormier, the whole thing will snowball, everything we did to get you into school would come out. Delphine, they could take you away and…” I’ll never see you again, Cosima thinks, feeling her heart tighten. Anyone finds out the truth, that Delphine is, no was, a doll, that’s it, they’ll want to examine her, they’ll poke and prod, do who knows what to her. She won’t let that happen, she can’t. 

“And what, Cosima?” Delphine asks, placing her hand on top of Cosima’s, snapping her out of those scary thoughts.

“And, uh, well, Scott and I would get into a lot of trouble,” Cosima lies, she could care less about getting into trouble. “Look, Delphine, please, let’s just give it some more time. We’ll keep investigating on our own and maybe you’ll get a hit on that website that reunites missing people with their family. Or, hey, maybe you’ll suddenly remember on your own.” Even as the words pour out of Cosima’s mouth, she instantly regrets them. Regrets giving this girl, this amazing girl, false hope. But what else can she do? 

“Ok, you’re right. I think I just need to borrow some of your optimism. I will figure out who I am,” Delphine says with a newfound determination. 

“Great, that’s the spirit,” Cosima says with exuberance, even as her stomach churns with remorse. She quickly changes the subject “Hey, I want details, what the hell happened last night after I blacked out?”

Delphine giggles.

“Tell me.”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Delphine! I’m giving you to the count of 3 to tell me or you’re in for a massive tickle attack.”

“Oh no, a tickle attack!” Delphine feigns terror.

“Ok, don’t say I didn’t warn you. 1… 2… 3.” Cosima tackles Delphine on the couch and starts tickling by her ribs, moving up to her armpits. Delphine wriggles in uncontrollable fits of laughter.

“Merde, merde, ok, ok, I’ll tell you,” Delphine shrieks and Cosima halts her attack only to realize she’s on top of Delphine, their faces mere centimeters apart. She quickly jumps off and sits beside her.

“Go ahead.”

“Well you had quite a few drinks before you jumped up on the table and started dancing. It was very entertaining. This went on for maybe 15 minutes. Then a particular song came on and you started singing along until you nearly fell off the table. Tony caught you and sat you down on the couch. Then you just drifted off to sleep.”

“Wait, back up. I sang? No way! I do not sing. What song was it?”

“I don’t know, something about a wonderwall.”

“No!” Cosima screams, horrified.

“Oui. It was quite a performance,” Delphine laughs at the memory.

“Oh god, tell me nobody got it on video?”

Delphine just shrugs. 

“Ugh. Please never let me drink again. And the blanket? Who was nice enough to cover me up?”

“Oh, well, actually, I checked on you at about 3am, just to make sure you were ok. I removed your glasses and set them aside. Then you kind of shifted, hugging yourself in the fetal position. I thought you looked cold, so I covered you with the throw.” 

Cosima smiles, touched by Delphine’s thoughtfulness. “Thanks Delphine. So, what do you want to do now? My parents won’t be home for a while still.”

“I don’t know. What would you normally do with all this free time?” 

“Hmm, well, I’m not sure if you’re into this, so you can totally say no, but would you wanna maybe play video games?” 

“Video games,” Delphine repeats, looking at Cosima’s hopeful expression, before smiling. “Sure, but I don’t think I know how.”

“It’s easy, I’ll teach you. We’ll start off simple.” Cosima jumps up joyfully and quickly unplugs the PlayStation, hooking up her old Wii in its place. She powers on the console and turns on the TV. “Ok, this is an oldie, but a goodie.”

The title screen come on. “Mario Kart?” Delphine asks.

“Yeah, it's a racing game, you can play as different characters from Super Mario Bros. It’s really fun. I’m always Toad.”

“A frog?”

“No, not that kind of toad,” Cosima chuckles. “This Toad is little mushroom man. He’s smart and hella fast. Take a look at the choices, who do you want to be?”

“Hmm,” Delphine’s scans the characters on the screen, examining each one carefully before pointing to the one she wants. “Her!”

“Excellent choice. That’s Princess Peach.”

“Ooh, I’m a princess,” Delphine says, delighted. 

“Hey, she kinda looks like you, no wonder you chose her. My dude is actually her loyal subject. But loyalty only goes so far, not gonna let you beat me or anything, your highness.”

“I’ve seen you drive, I’m not worried,” Delphine teases, causing Cosima to stick her tongue out. 

“I’m a lot better at this than real life driving, just you wait and see. I’ve got these steering wheel accessories that I put the wiimotes in so it feels more realistic. Here’s yours. So, you’re just gonna turn the wheel in the direction you want to go. You basically follow the track around, racing all the other characters; you want to beat them as well as me. To accelerate, you’ll press this button and to brake or reverse, you press this one. There’s power ups you can get along the way, so you’ll want to drive through the boxes with the question marks. Some of the items, like the mushroom, help boost your speed and stuff and others contain things you can throw at the other drivers to slow them down, like shells and banana peels. To use an item, push this. They will count us down from 3 to start the race. Right after the 2 disappears, you can hold down the accelerator to get a speed boost. You have to practice getting the timing down so you don’t stall. You’ll pick up on all the other minutia of the game the more we play. Now my view is the top half of the screen and yours is the bottom. You clear on all that?”

Delphine laughs. “Well, that was a lot of information, but I think I got it.” 

“Ok, great, let’s race.” Cosima starts the game.

3, 2, 1 - they’re off. Cosima gets off to a quick start and easily takes the lead. Delphine starts off in 5th, then hits a wall, pushing her back into 8th and causing her to drive in the wrong direction.

“Turn around, Delphine!” Cosima shouts.

“No, no. Come on!” Delphine yells. She rights her car then drives through a box, picking up a thunderbolt and using it immediately, making all other characters miniature versions of themselves. She speeds over and through them, now hot on Cosima’s tail. 

“Damn, woman!” Cosima shrieks trying to avoid the full-size Peach from running her tiny Toad over. Cosima throws a banana peel at Delphine, causing her to spin out. “Ha ha!”

Cosima regains her size and speeds off, Delphine falls back to 4th. As the race continues, Cosima manages to fend off her enemies to stay in the lead. It’s the 3rd and final lap, Cosima is still in 1st and closing in on the finish line. Delphine now in 3rd place, fires the blue shell she’s been holding onto, with Cosima on the receiving end of the attack. Delphine uses that assault to her advantage as she zooms past 2nd and 1st to take the lead. A few seconds later, Delphine crosses the finish line with ‘1st Place’ displaying on her half of the screen. Cosima ends up in 3rd. 

“I won, I won!” Delphine screams in victory, her arms raised high up in the air. “What was that you said again about being better at this than real life driving?”

Cosima can’t help the smile that forms across her face as she witnesses the other girl’s pride. “Yeah, yeah, settle down, Princess, beginner’s luck. This isn’t over yet, we still have many more races to run. You may have won the battle, but you will not win the war.”

They continue playing, laughing and screaming as they bump into each other and battle it out for supremacy. They take turns claiming victory throughout their gameplay. They’re so caught up in the game, and having so much fun, they fail to hear the front door open and shut behind them. 

“Excuse me, ladies,” a loud, male voice shouts. “We’ve received numerous noise complaints from your neighbors about this residence.”


	11. Meet the Parents

Delphine drops her Wii controller, frozen in fear, but Cosima laughs as she rises from the couch and turns around to face their intruder.

“Hey Dad! Welcome home!” Cosima says as she rushes to hug her father. She then turns to her mother, who is standing beside him. “Mom, why do you let him do that?”

“You think I could stop him?” Her mom answers, enveloping Cosima in a hug and kissing her forehead.

Delphine’s expression changes to a smile as she watches from the couch, not wanting to interrupt the family reunion.

“How was the conference?”

“Boring, but informative. Um, Sweetheart,” Cosima’s dad says, glancing in Delphine’s direction, “were you planning on introducing us to your guest?”

“Oh, sorry, sorry, my bad. Mom, Dad, this is Delphine. Delphine, this is my mom and dad, obvs.”

Delphine gets up and walks over to them, hand extended. “Nice to meet you Mrs. Niehaus, Mr. Niehaus.”

“You too, Delphine. And please, call me Nancy.”

“And you can call me Don,” Mr. Niehaus adds. “Do I detect a French accent there?”

“Oui, I’m from France.”

“Yeah, Delphine is an exchange student, just started school with us Monday,” Cosima interjects.

“Well that’s lovely. And so nice that you and Cosima seem to have become fast friends, judging by all the laughter we heard when we walked in,” Nancy says with a warm smile.

“Yes, Cosima is wonderful,” Delphine smiles back.

“Um, we’re actually more than friends,” Cosima interrupts, causing her dad’s brow to raise, at which Cosima realizes how that sounded and, before either parent further infers what she thinks they’re inferring, she quickly blurts out, “She’s staying with us, we’re, uh, her host family.”

“Oh are we? This is news to me,” Nancy says.

“Yeah, sorry, kinda happened last minute. You see, she was supposed to stay with this girl Sherry’s family, but they neglected to tell her they had cats and, well, Delphine is hella allergic to cats. So obviously she couldn’t stay there, and, since she is in most of my classes, I was asked if it would be ok if she stayed with us, and, well, since we have the guest room, I figured it would be fine. I’m sorry, I know I should have asked you guys, but, like, she needed a place to stay asap and you were out of the country…”

“Cosima, stop, it’s fine. Right Don?” Nancy interrupts, looking over at her husband.

“Yes, totally. I’m actually glad you had company while we were away. Since the house is still standing, and far cleaner than I’ve ever seen it, I assume Delphine has been a positive influence.”

“Ha, ha, Dad, you are so funny. Oh, by the way, you know who also makes dumb dad jokes? This one,” she says, pointing at Delphine, then adopts an old-timey tone. “I think you’ll get along just swell.”

Delphine laughs. “I’ve been driven around by your daughter all week, I don’t think she’s appreciated my reactions to the experience.”

“Ah yes, we’ve all been fortunate enough to have to endure the wonder that is Cosima behind the wheel,” Don says with a smile. “I guess we should be fortunate then that both the house and our houseguest are still in one piece.”

“I’ve been counting my blessings every morning to still be breathing.”

“See? What’d I tell you, she’s a riot,” Cosima says with a roll of her eyes. “So, what did you bring me back?”

“Bring you back? What are you 10? Are we still expected to bring you back something from our travels?” Don asks.

“Yes, you are,” Cosima states matter of factly.

“Oh Don, just give it to herm” Nancy says with a playful shove.

“Fine, fine.” Don pulls a small box out of his bag and hands it to Cosima.

“Ooh, what can it be?” Cosima wonders as she gives the box a shake. “It’s not a book, definitely not a telescope, not a sweater, not a-“

“Cosima, will you please just open it!” Don shouts.

“Fine, fine.” Cosima removes the lid and peeks inside. “Whoa, this is awesome.” She pulls out a beautiful purple colored rock.

“It’s iolite, we dug it up in a quarry on one of our excursions,” Don explains.

“It’s beautiful. Thanks!”

“I’m sorry we don’t have anything for you, Delphine. But a certain someone didn’t bother to tell us you were here,” Don says, with a glare in Cosima’s direction.

“Oh please, I wouldn’t expect a gift, besides you allowing me to stay here is the real gift.”

“And you should think of Delphine as your welcome home present,” Cosima adds.

“How am I a present, Cosima?” Delphine wonders.

“Just wait til they taste your coffee, trust me, that’s a gift that keeps on giving.”

“Coffee sounds divine,” Nancy enthuses. “But what we are now is hungry. Did you girls have dinner?”

“Not yet, we were gonna order-”

“Let me guess, pizza?” Nancy smirks. “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of pizza this week. We actually had the car stop on the way home so we could grab takeout from Kokkari. And with the way your father orders, we surely have plenty for the four of us. I hope you like Greek, Delphine.”

“I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure I’ll love it. Please let me help you set the table.”

Delphine and Nancy head into the kitchen.

“She seems sweet,” Don remarks.

“Yeah, she is,” Cosima nods.

“And pretty,” he adds.

“Uh huh.”

“Don’t ‘uh huh’ me, Cosima. You seem really happy and I don’t think it’s just because we came home. Is there something going on between the two of you that you’d like to share with your dear old dad.”

“No, Dad, come on, cut it out. It’s not like that. It’s just been nice having someone around to hang out with all week.”

“Hey, can you blame me for hoping my daughter had found the girl that makes her happy?”

“I appreciate the sentiment, Pops, but Delphine and I are just friends.”

Meanwhile, Nancy and Delphine start pulling out plates and silverware and setting the table.

“So, Delphine, tell me, has Cosima been a good host, made sure you’re properly fed and on-time to school?”

“Yes, she’s been great. We’ve had 3 square meals a day and have been on-time to school.”

“Delphine, you don’t need to cover for Cosima, I know she’s never on-time for anything, let alone school.”

Delphine laughs. “Ok, but we were actually early one day and barely late the others. She’s been improving.”

“What about food? Was it all fast food?” Nancy asks as she takes dinner out of the bag.

“Not all,” Delphine stresses. “Truly, Cosima has been an amazing host.”

“I’m very glad she had you to keep her company while we were gone. Usually we ask someone to stay with her, but she insisted she’s old enough to be on her own. I was definitely worried this whole week, so your presence was a godsend. And I can tell Cosima really likes you. She has trouble sometimes, opening up, making new friends. I mean, she’s got her group and they’re all lovely kids, but she’s known them all since she was a little girl. I haven’t seen her really befriend anyone new in a long time, so you must be really special.”

Delphine smiles, touched by Nancy’s words. “I don’t know, I think Cosima is the special one.”

Cosima and Don join them in the kitchen.

“Mmm, smells great,” Cosima remarks. “Hey, what are you two grinning about?”

“Oh nothing, just having a nice talk, getting to know Delphine,” Nancy replies. “I can’t wait to show her your baby pictures.”

“Mom, no!” Cosima loudly protests. “Seriously. She doesn’t want to see those.”

“Non, I think I would very much like to see them,” Delphine says, earning an icy glare from Cosima. “I bet you were adorable.”

“Yes, she was,” Don says.

“Hey, what you mean ‘was’? I still am adorable!” Cosima exclaims, mock insulted.

“Well then I can’t wait to see how adorable baby Cosima turned into adorable teenaged Cosima,” Delphine says, casting a smile in Cosima’s direction, causing a blush to form on those adorable cheeks.

“And I can’t believe our little baby will be 18 next week,” Nancy says wistfully.

“Your birthday is next week?” Delphine gasps, surprised Cosima hadn’t mentioned it.

“Oh, yeah, Saturday,” Cosima responds.

“We always have a dinner here at the house with her friends, which now includes you, Delphine,” Nancy smiles.

Delphine looks at Cosima, silently asking for confirmation she’s welcome at this party.

“Yeah, totes. I’m sorry, I guess I should have mentioned it sooner, we just had so much other stuff going on, I guess it kinda slipped my mind.”

“Your 18th birthday slipped your mind, kiddo?” Don asks. “You must have been _really_ distracted.” He ends his statement with a wink, earning an eye roll from Cosima.

“I definitely want you there, Delphine, and I’m not just saying that cause you live here now and it would be rude to make you stay up in your room while we celebrate without ya,” Cosima jokes, easing the tension she’s sensing from the other girl at her stupid omission.

Delphine chuckles. “Thank you, I’m looking forward to it.”

Dinner continues, with Don and Nancy asking Delphine questions about her life, her interests and her plans after high school.

Cosima, sensing Delphine’s hesitation, jumps in and mentions Delphine is into science, which peaks Don’s interest, and the discussion immediately shifts to science talk, sparing Delphine from having to make up lies about herself.

After dinner, the girls go upstairs to check Cosima’s email and find that Alison has sent over the script of the musical for Delphine. Cosima starts printing it out.

“Hey, Del, I’m sorry, truly, for not mentioning my birthday, it wasn’t on purpose, I swear. You gotta admit, we had a lot going on this week.”

“That’s ok, I’m just glad I know now. I would have felt foolish had it been your birthday and I was unaware.” Delphine pauses in thought. “Wait, did you just call me Del?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I did, sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize, it’s kinda cute, actually. I like having a nickname. Especially one you gave me,” Delphine smiles.

“So, what do you think of the ‘rents? They’re not asking you too many annoying questions, I hope.”

“No, they are really lovely. I see a lot of them in you. You have your dad’s cheekiness and brilliant science mind and your mom’s caring heart.” Cosima smiles shyly at the kind words. “I feel really welcome here, it feels like home.”

“That great, and, like, yeah, I want you to feel like this is your home, because it is.”

“What do mean?”

“Um, I mean, while you’re here, you should definitely think of this as your house. Mi casa es tu casa.”

“Cosima, can I admit something?”

“Um, yeah, of course,” Cosima gulps, not sure what is coming next.

“I may not know very much about who I was before I got here, or anything about my life or the people in it, but there’s one thing I am certain of.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

 _Best friend_. Cosima repeats in her head. She is incredibly flattered and heart-warmed by the sentiment, but, despite what she told her dad, she’s also a little, okay, maybe very, disappointed to be friend-zoned.

“I feel the same way, buddy,” Cosima replies and is immediately enveloped in a warm embrace.

 _And so much more_. Cosima thinks as she sinks into the hug. So. Much. More.


	12. Just Another Manic Monday

“Don’t jump down my throat or anything, but this is becoming a disturbing pattern. You’re on-time. Again.” Beth remarks as Cosima and Delphine take their seats for first period.

“This is all my mom’s doing, she woke me up early, nagging me not to drag Delphine down into my pit of lateness. Ah, the joy of having the parents home,” Cosima groans.

“So, Delphine, how are you getting along with her folks?” Beth asks.

“They’ve been very welcoming and I actually don’t mind getting here on time.”

“Of course you don’t, you’re one of those insane morning people. And my parents adore you and your coffee, like I knew they would. My mom took Delphine to the supermarket yesterday, they spent like 3 hours out there and came home with all healthy crap. My fridge is now an Alison Hendrix wet dream. Do you know what we had for breakfast this morning? Oatmeal. Oatmeal! What the hell? I think my mom just wants to impress you Delphine, she’s not normally this health food obsessed.”

“I had doughnuts for breakfast,” Beth smirks.

“Shut up!” Cosima grumbles and lays her head on her desk, where it remains throughout the class.

Later, when Cosima and Delphine arrive to English, they are immediately accosted by Alison.

“Cosima, I am so sorry I couldn’t stay and help clean up, but you know how my mother gets when I’m not home on time.”

“How can I forget? She blamed me that time you were two minutes late and wouldn’t let you hang out with me for a month. That woman, no offense Ali, but she’s, um, difficult.”

“Cosima, you shouldn’t speak about her mother like that,” Delphine admonishes.

“It’s ok, everyone hates my mother,” Alison defends.

“Well, if you’re ever in the market for a new one, my mom has now decided we should eat healthy and be on time to school, so you’re welcome to her.”

“It’s about time,” Alison remarks. “Delphine, did you get the script I sent over?”

“Yes, thank you. I studied it all last night. I guess I should be calling you mom.”

“Ugh, please don’t become a method actress, Delphine,” Cosima cracks.

“My darling, I’m so sorry I couldn’t raise you,” Alison play acts dramatically for Cosima’s benefit. “But seriously, it will be fun, it’s a fabulous musical. Have you seen the movie version with Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway?”

“No, I haven’t”

“Cosima, why don’t you get it for her on-demand? You really should see it, Delphine, it’s fabulous.”

“Oh sure, I’ll get right on that,” Cosima fake gags.

“I’m sure if there was a Les Miz video game, you’d be all over that,” Alison chastises.

“Yeah then I could play as Javert and shoot everyone to get them to stop singing. Come on, these people are miserable, it’s right there in the title, they’re at war, prostituting themselves, dying of who knows what, and yet they find the time to sing about everything.”

Alison rolls her eyes and takes her seat as the class begins.

After class, the girls head off in opposite directions, when Delphine arrives at Criminal Law, she’s immediately accosted by Chad.

“Hey, babe, I think we got off on the wrong foot the other night. I really think you should give me another shot, let me take you out sometime.”

“Are you serious? You are rude and arrogant.”

“That was just the beers talking, I’m a true gentleman. Go out with me.”

“What part of I am dating Scott did you not understand?”

“That really happened? I thought I imagined that, beer brain and all.”

“No, it is very real and he is a wonderful boyfriend.” Just then she sees Scott approaching the class. “Scott, I was just talking about you.” She greets him with a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

“Yeah, you too, Delphine,” Scott plays along.

“Man, maybe I pegged you all wrong. I thought you were just a dork, but if you can score a hot number like this, you must have something going on under all this nerdiness. Props to you, Smith,” Chad says with a sense of respect and emphasizes with a fist bump.

Delphine takes Scott’s hand and leads him into the class.

“Well, that’s a first. That guy has never said anything to me that was even remotely nice. How was your weekend with Don and Nancy?”

“It was fine, they are really great. They didn’t question the lie about me being a foreign exchange student or anything. Cosima is a very talented story teller.”

“Yeah, she is. I’m glad everything is going so well for you over there.”

Beth walks in, spots Delphine with Scott, and heads to her seat. Delphine then leaves Scott to join Beth at their table.

“Delphine, are you and Scott really an item?” Beth leans in and whispers as they’re told to work on their cases.

“For all intents and purposes at school, yes.”

“Ok, and out of school?”

“No, we’re not really dating. I just didn’t like the way Charity and Chad and everyone was treating him, so I thought it would help his image a bit.”

“It’s working. You two were the talk of the party after Tony blabbed it around.”

“Good, whatever helps. Hey, Beth, I was wondering if you might know of any part-time jobs available. I don’t have much money and I feel bad having Cosima pay for me all the time.”

“Well, I know the school is always looking for language tutors. Maybe you could do some French tutoring. The sessions usually happen before school from 7-8, after school, and on the weekends. They pay $25 an hour, cash.”

“Oh, that sounds great. I have rehearsal after school, but maybe I can do it the other times.”

“Yeah, just swing by the main office and sign up with Raj.”

“I’ll do that, thanks!”

“If you do the morning sessions, I can swing by and pick you up on my way here. I usually try to get some time on the track before school starts. You definitely don’t want to wake the sleeping beast that early”

Delphine laughs, “No kidding. I’d really appreciate that, Beth,”

After class, Delphine asks Scott to accompany her while she goes to speak with Raj so they can enter the cafeteria together afterwards.

Cosima sees Beth enter the lunchroom alone and immediately wonders where Delphine is. “Hey, why isn’t Delphine with you?”

“She had to go talk to Raj, she’ll be here soon.”

Cosima starts eating and about 10 minutes later looks up to find Delphine walking in, hand in hand with Scott. She’s not the only set of eyes watching them, as almost everyone is intrigued by this new coupling.

When they arrive at the table, Scott and Delphine sit side by side across from Cosima. Delphine notices people staring, so she whispers something in Scott’s ear and they both giggle. Cosima feels like she needs to vomit. She excuses herself to use the restroom and Sarah follows.

“Cos, you ok?” Sarah asks once they’re in the bathroom.

“Yeah, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Just watching them holding hands and making googly eyes at each other, it’s so just so aggravating. And I know it shouldn’t bother me, they’re just pretending and she’s only trying to help him out, but, ugh, dammit, I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry, Sarah, I know we already discussed this the other night and I was being an ass then and I’m being an ass now. Just like slap me or something.”

“Cos, chill out, I get it. You look at them and even though it’s just an act, it’s hard because you want to be the one she’s holding hands with and making googly eyes at.”

“Yeah, but that’s never gonna happen. Do you know what she told me? That I’m the best friend she’s ever had. Best friend, Sarah.”

“That’s sweet.”

“Yeah, it’s very sweet, she’s very sweet, but I can’t help my stupid hormones from wanting more than a friendship. Here’s this incredible girl that I’ve always wanted and am never gonna have.”

“What do you mean always wanted? You’ve known her, what, a little over a week?”

“Oh, um, yeah, I just meant she’s got all the qualities I’ve been looking for in a girl,” Cosima corrects, before continuing. “Have you ever looked at someone, like really looked deep into their eyes and felt this immediate connection? Like there’s no one else for you, but that person? That’s how I felt the moment I laid eyes on her. And I didn’t even think she was real at first, I thought my pot-addled mind was just imagining her at my door.”

Sarah laughs. “Look, Cos, she says you’re her best friend, but that doesn’t mean down the line that won’t change and grow into something more. Isn’t friendship the best basis for a relationship? Besides, she doesn’t know how you feel about her, does she?”

“Hell no. I can’t tell her, it’d freak her out.”

“You don’t know that. Give her more credit than that.”

“What and take a leap of faith, one that could destroy the relationship that we’ve built as friends? No way.”

“Fine, Cos, play it however you want, but she’s not gonna be here forever, she’s gotta return to France at some point, right? Or she’ll head off to college somewhere. You want to wait so long that she’s gone and all you’re left with are what ifs? Look, right now, she and Scott are playing pretend, but eventually she’ll move on and find the real thing with someone, whether here or back home. If you can’t handle her fauxmance with Scott, how do you think you’re gonna handle it when she has a real romance with someone else?”

“I fucking hate it when you make sense, you know that? But as much as I get what you’re saying, there are a lot of other factors that I can’t even get into right now that make this a lot harder than me simply passing her a note that says ‘I like you, do you like me?’ It’s just super complicated, Sarah.”

“Life is complicated, Cos. Look, if you tell her how you feel, there are two outcomes. If she’s not into you, fine, you’ll have to accept it and move on. But, if she is into you, then you’ve got a shot at something special. You think in a million years little street urchin me expected to be dating tech genius Cal Morrison? But I went for it, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. You know, you’ve got this incredible heart, Cosima, but you’re afraid to use it, because you’re afraid if you do, it’ll get broken. But the good thing about broken hearts is that they mend themselves. I’m not gonna stand here and tell you what to do, that’s your decision, and I know you rarely listen to me anyway, but please just think about it and stop getting all mopey whenever Blondie gives someone else attention. You look real good in red, but green does nothing for you.”

The bell rings signaling the end of lunch and Cosima gives Sarah a hug. “Thanks for being my sounding board. Again.”

“Anytime. Just think about what we discussed, yeah? I’ll see you later.”

As Cosima walks to her next class, she ruminates on Sarah’s words and how crazy she’s been acting this last week over Delphine’s relationships with both Beth and Scott. She knows she’s being stupid and she knows it’s all because she doesn’t have the guts to tell her how she feels. There’s also that nagging voice in the back of head telling her that Delphine’s whole existence is still a mystery and to even think about anything like romance at this point is crazy.

When Cosima arrives at the photography lab, Delphine is standing outside the door.

“Cosima, are you alright? You never came back to the cafeteria.”

“Yeah, just a little stomachache, I’m feeling much better now.”

“Good,” Delphine says as they enter the class.

“Ok, today we are going to spend the period outside in the park across the street. Consider this a warm-up for your photo essay. I want you to capture wildlife in its natural environment.” Benjamin leads the students outside.

The students quickly scatter around the park. Cosima sees a squirrel and quietly approaches it and starts snapping photos. Delphine spots a butterfly and takes a couple pics. The butterfly takes off and Delphine tries to follow its path into the sky and through the trees. She loses sight of it and turns to look for Cosima. She finds her crouched, tracking the squirrel near a tree and is compelled to start taking pictures of the scene. When the squirrel scampers up the tree, Cosima looks up to find Delphine’s lens pointed in her direction.

“Hey, you’re supposed to be taking photos of wildlife, not me,” Cosima chastises.

“I’m sorry you just looked like cutest little puppy dog chasing that squirrel.”

“Have you looked in a mirror lately? With your floppy curls and those big brown eyes, you’re the puppy,” Cosima says as snaps a few pics of Delphine.

“I am not a puppy, Cosima,” Delphine whines, covering her face with her hands.

“You’re not doing a very good job at convincing me with that little whimper,” Cosima teases, then notices a bird up in the tree behind Delphine and pulls her camera back to her eye and begins taking photos. “I think there’s a Painted Redstart sitting up there.”

“A what?” Delphine asks, following Cosima’s gaze to the trees.

“It’s a bird, very rarely spotted in Northern California.”

“Quel oiseau magnifique! Are you a bird expert?”

“No, not an expert, but my mom used to be active with the Bay Area Bird Watchers. When I was little, she would take with me with her to different parks and we’d try to spot rare birds. I think she was a little jealous of all the time I spent with my dad, doing science projects, so bird watching was special time just for the two of us. She would flip out if I caught a Painted Redstart on film,” Cosima says as she continues clicking the shutter.

“That’s lovely. So do you think you got any good shots of it?”

“I hope so. To quote the great, French thinker, Delphine Cormier, ‘I can’t wait to see what develops.’ ”

Benjamin wrangles the students and leads them back to the classroom. “Alright, tomorrow you can process your film and see what you’ve captured. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

As they walk to Chemistry, Cosima tells Delphine some of her favorite birds and the best parks to spot them. She promises to take Delphine bird watching one day. Scott greets the girls as they arrive to class. As Delphine and Scott go through the motions, a hug, a cheek kiss, Cosima pays close attention to Delphine’s actions and expressions. She notices a very outwardly warmth, it’s obvious Delphine cares for Scott, but what she doesn’t see, especially when they hug, is Delphine fully committing and sinking into it. She knows it’s crazy, but when she compares it to the hug they shared after Delphine told her she was her best friend, it pales in comparison. It’s then that she fully accepts that this truly is just a ruse and so she decides to just play along with them.

“Hey lovebirds, break it up. Delphine and I have work to do.” Cosima drags Delphine off by the hand to their table. They put their lab coats and goggles on, grab some supplies from the back room, and get to work on their decomposition of hydrogen peroxide lab.

After a while, Dr. Leekie makes his rounds, checking on the students’ progress. He looks over the calculations Delphine has written down in their notebook. “Very impressive. Ms. Niehaus, Ms. Cormier, keep up the good work.” Cosima takes note of the little shoulder squeeze he gives Delphine as he moves on to the next table.

The girls have study hall last period and join their friends table. Alison is writing furiously in her notebook, while Beth and Sarah are playing paper football. Cosima and Delphine sit down and start working on their math homework. Sarah nudges Cosima’s foot under the table. When Cosima glances up, Sarah gives her a look that says You cool? and Cosima gives her a nod and a smile.

The final bell rings and the girls pack up. “Delphine, do you want me to hang around and drive you home after rehearsal?”

Alison looks up, “I can drive her home, Cosima, no need for you to wait around. You’ll just be bored out of your mind.”

“Thank you, Alison,” Delphine smiles.

“Cool, cool, well I’ll see you later then, have fun.” Cosima gives Delphine a little wave and heads out to her car.

Alison and Delphine head to the auditorium. They walk in and see that students are already on stage running lines and singing. Alison leads them over to the director.

“Alexander, this is Delphine, our new Cosette.” Alison presents Delphine, with arm outstretched.

“Ah, très belle. Bienvenue à Les Miserables.” Alexander takes her hand and kisses it. “Look at those eyes, that hair, those lips, never have I seen a more perfect Cosette.”

“Oh, thank you, I hope I can live up to your expectations,” Delphine timidly replies.

“Hush, you will be divine. We will be running through scenes 65 and 66 this afternoon. Art, Felix, Sarah, please come join us.” Art, Felix and Sarah Stubbs walk over. “Art is our Valjean, Felix is Marius, and Sarah is Eponine.”

“Hello!” Delphine greets the trio.

“Are you ready to fall in love me, Delphine?” Felix asks with a wink.

“You know it,” Delphine replies.

“I’m so excited to be working with you, Delphine. When Alison mentioned you as a replacement for Charity, I knew it was a fantastic choice,” Sarah Stubbs eagerly blurts.

“Come now, we will be running the soundtrack so you can get a feel for the music before we run through with live accompaniment.” Alexander send the kids to the stage and then starts playing the score.

Delphine’s eyes go wide and she leans into Sarah’s ear. “Why are they singing all the dialogue?”

Sarah laughs. “You’re funny.”

Delphine is baffled and walks over to Alison, who is standing in the wings.

“Alison, why aren’t they speaking?”

“Oh, um, yeah, well the whole musical is sung-through,” Alison spits out.

“Wait, you said Cosette has a few numbers, you didn’t say the whole show was one big number.”

“Technically, there are certain songs that are more of the big showstoppers, the rest of the lines are sung, yet not quite as emphatically, I guess you could say.”

Delphine just stares at her.

“Look, when you seemed surprised about the music, I didn’t want to scare you off. I’m surprised you weren’t aware, but perhaps in France you only read the novel. Just try to ease into it, you’ll be fine. Basically approach it as though you are simply chanting everything you would normally speak, it’s not as daunting as you think.”

“Delphine, is there something wrong?” Alexander calls out from mid-stage.

“No, no, I’m coming.” Delphine walks back to center stage, script in hand.

“Ok, from the top at ‘How strange,’ Go ahead, Delphine.”

Delphine steps forward and the music begins. She softly warbles, _“How strange this feeling that my life’s begun-”_

Alexander cuts in, “Delphine, honey, a couple of notes. Number 1: you need to project your voice. The entire audience needs to be able to hear you. Secondly, you need to feel. Think about the words and their meaning, inhabit them, personalize them. If the audience doesn’t believe you, you’ll lose them.”

Delphine takes a second to compose herself, skimming over the lines before nodding towards the pianist and starting over. _“How strange this feeling that my life’s begun at last! This change. Can people really fall in love so fast? What’s the matter with you, Cosette? Have you been too much on your own? So many things unclear. So many things unknown.”_ As Delphine realizes what she’s singing, something in her clicks and she’s able to connect with the lyrics. _“In my life there are so many questions and answers that somehow seem wrong. In my life there are times when I catch in the silence the sigh of a faraway song and it sings - of a world I long to see. Out of reach - just a whisper away waiting for me! Does he know I’m alive? Do I know if he’s real? Does he see what I see? Does he feel what I feel?”_

She continues to get more and more comfortable and confident as she’s joined by Art, then Felix and Sarah. When they finish the scene, they are greeted with loud applause from Alison and Alexander.

Alison rushes over. “Holy fishsticks, Delphine, that was amazing. You have a lovely voice and the emotion that you brought to everything you sang, where did that come from?”

“Hey, it’s cause I’m such a catch, init?” Felix chimes in.

“Yeah, that must be it,” Delphine grins, though inside her heart is banging away at a much deeper realization.

Meanwhile, Cosima arrives home and heads into the kitchen for a snack. She opens the pantry and scans the contents. “Healthy crap, healthy crap, healthy crap, ah, here we go, Pringles.” She pop open the top and starts going to town on the chips.

“Cosima. Can you come down here, please?” Don shouts from the basement.

Cosima heads downstairs. “Hey, Pops, how’d you know I was home?”

“Nobody else slams the door quite like you, Sweetie.”

“Sorry. So what can I do for you?” she asks.

“Can you explain why this is down here?” Don holds up the empty Science Barbie box.

  
Shit. Fuck. Shit. She forgot to bring the box back up after being surprised by Delphine at the door that night. “Hmm, that is strange. I have no idea why that would be down here.” She quickly lies.

“Really, Cosima? You weren’t down here while I was away?”

“Dad, you locked it remember? Besides, what would I be doing with a doll box? Do I look like I still play with dolls?”

“This was not here when I left.”

“Well, maybe it was, but you just didn’t notice. Maybe I left it down her a long time ago. I haven’t seen it in a while.”

“But it’s just an empty box. Where’s the doll?”

 _Rehearsing for a musical_ , Cosima thinks. “Who knows? Like I said, I’m not exactly playing with dolls anymore.” Shit, first Helena, now my dad, this is like the great doll inquisition.

“Fine, here,” Don hands her the box. “Do something with this.”

Cosima nonchalantly looks around the lab. “Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been down here. Hey, what’s this thing do?” She asks, pointing at the mystery machine that apparently brings dolls to life.

“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. And if that happened your mother would kill me,” Don laughs.

“Seriously, Dad, what is it?”

“Always so curious, aren’t you?” Don shakes his head. “Ok, if I tell you, you need to swear to never tell anyone. It’s not ready for public consumption just yet.”

Whoa, this must be serious. “Yeah, sure, I won’t tell anyone” She says with her fingers crossed behind her back.

“This beauty of a machine is able to give new life…”

“New life?” Cosima gulps.

“Yeah, new life,” Don nods. “To fruits and vegetables.”

“Oh my god!” Cosima gasps, then does a double take. “Say what? To fruits and vegetables?”

“Yeah, I’ve been working with the FDA on a way to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Right now an unrefrigerated banana lasts 2-7 days, but with this, it can be extended another week, possibly even up to a month if we play our cards right. Think about all the underprivileged villages. They can be shipped produce and not have to worry about it spoiling as quickly.”

“Wow, Dad, that’s amazing. Is that, uh, is that all it does?”

“Yeah, Kiddo, isn’t that cool enough?”

“Totally. I was just thinking, why stop with fruit and vegetables, what about people?”

“What about people? You want to extend their shelf life? I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that,” he laughs.

“Yeah, of course not,” she laughs along, now more confused than ever. “Well, I’ve got some homework to do, so I better get to it. Thanks for telling me about the machine.” She takes the doll box and heads back upstairs.

Once in her room, Cosima flops down on the bed, holding the box up and staring at it. “This makes no sense. Fruits and vegetables? It’s a freshness machine, how the hell did it bring a doll to life? Shit, it had to be the lightning somehow. The reaction of the two. Even that sounds insane. This whole thing is complete insanity.” She closes her eyes and all she can picture is Delphine’s face. Eventually there is a knock on her bedroom door, her eyes open, as realization sinks in that she must have dozed off.

“Cosima?” Delphine says from the hall. “Can I come in?”

Cosima realizes she has been clutching the doll box to her chest. She immediately tosses it under her bed, before jumping up and opening the door. “Delphine, hey, yeah, come in.”

Delphine walks in. “I’m sorry, were you sleeping?”

“No.” She gets a skeptical look from Delphine. “Ok, maybe I was, how’d you know.”

“You have a little uh -” She gestures to her own face and Cosima immediately wipes at her chin.

“Oh god, drool, how not at all embarrassing,” Cosima says as she furiously wipes it away with her sleeve.

Delphine laughs.

“So, how was rehearsal?”

“Good. Although I was quite shocked to find out the whole show is sung-through.”

“What? Oh man!” Cosima responds.

“Yeah, but it actually turned out alright. Everyone was very complimentary about my performance, though they were probably just trying to be nice to the new girl.”

“Nah, if you sucked, I’m sure Felix would tell you as much.”

“You’re probably right. He actually took credit for my being able to really get into the character, says it’s cause he’s playing my love interest.”

“He would think that,” Cosima says with a shake of her head.

“Cosima?”

“Yeah?”

Delphine freezes, staring into Cosima’s eyes, thinking about the lyrics and how they made her feel, a million different things going through her mind she wants to say.

“Del?” Cosima waves her hand in front of Delphine’s face.

She snaps out of her daze. “Désolé, um, I wanted to let you know I signed up to be a French tutor earlier today. Raj came up to me as I was leaving school to say I can start tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, wow, you sure that’s not going to be too much, balancing your studies, the musical, and tutoring.”

“I don’t think so. Besides, I figured it was time I start earning some money. I need to pay you back for the clothing and I didn’t want to keep depending on you to support me.”

“Really, Delphine, it’s not a problem.”

“No, Cosima, I want to, it’s only fair.”

“Ok, well then I’ll just set my alarm for earlier so I can drive you.”

“That won’t be necessary, Beth offered to pick me up, she runs track at that time. But thank you for offering, I know waking up early is not your thing.”

“Eh, yeah, but if you needed me, I would gladly forego an hour of sleep. It’s the least I can do for my new best friend, right?” Cosima emphasizes with a playful, light arm tap.

“Girls, dinner’s ready!” Nancy yells from downstairs.

Cosima heads into the hall, then turns to Delphine. “You coming?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right down, just need to freshen up.”

Cosima heads down to the kitchen, while Delphine retreats into the bathroom. She stands in front of the mirror, looking at herself. “What are you doing, Delphine? Get a hold of yourself.”

She splashes some cold water on her face, then glances back up and stares into her eyes. There’s something different in them. She moves in closer to get a better look. They’re darker; her irises barely showing as her pupils have surpassed them.

“Merde!”


	13. Hooked On A Feeling

Delphine arrives at her first tutoring session. The freshman waiting for her stands and greets his tutor, “Hello, Ms. Cormier, I’m Ramon.”

“Nice to meet you, Ramon. Shall we get started?”

The session proceeds with Ramon spending more time staring at his tutor than learning French. When it’s time for him to pay her, he pulls out an unusually large stack of money from his backpack and hands her $25.

“Merci. See you tomorrow, Ramon.”

“Yeah, sure thing, Ms. Cormier.”

Delphine heads to her first class where she meets Beth.

“So, how did it go?” Beth asks.

“I’m not sure how much he learned, he spent an inordinate amount of time staring at me, but I got paid, so it was worth it. And he signed up for the rest of the week, so that’s $100 right there.”

“Awesome!”

“Beth, can you help me with something?” Delphine asks.

“Sure thing, what do you need?”

Delphine proceeds to outline the assistance she seeks, and, just as Beth agrees to help, the bell rings and Cosima rushes in.

“Right on the bell!” Cosima cheers, getting high fives from Beth and Delphine.

“I missed you this morning,” Cosima whispers to Delphine.

“You did?” Delphine responds, feeling a light fluttering in her chest at the sentiment.

“Yeah, I got used to our daily rides to school, even missed your little comments about my driving. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you took this tutoring job to avoid getting in my car.”

“You’re right,” Delphine deadpans.

“Ouch, you’re harsh.” Cosima clutches her heart.

Delphine reaches out and pats Cosima’s hand. “I missed you, too. Honestly.”

“Good,” Cosima smirks. “How was the tutoring sesh?”

“Fruitful,” Delphine replies, holding up her money and handing it to Cosima.

“Whoa, no, wait till you’ve made some more bank before repaying your debts. Besides, my parents won’t even get the bill for a few weeks.” She passes the money back to Delphine.

“Ok, but I will be paying you back. Ramon signed up for more sessions, so-“

“Did you say Ramon?” Cosima asks.

“Yes, you know him?”

“Oh yeah, I know him alright. He’s very entrepreneurial, that one,” Cosima grins.

“He did have quite a lot of money in his bag. What is he involved in?”

Cosima laughs, “Ah, just some recreational endeavors.”

Dr. Bowers silences the class and passes out a test. Everyone immediately gets to work on it, though Delphine has trouble focussing. All she can think about is Cosima and she casts subtle glances in the other girl’s direction, distracted by every little movement of Cosima’s hands, every cute little tilt of her head.

This distraction continues through their next two classes. And, when Delphine greets Scott in Criminal Law, she finds it suddenly hard to fake the affection. She gives him half-hearted hug and a barely grazes his cheek when she moves in to kiss it.

At lunchtime, Delphine enters the cafeteria holding Scott’s hand, but, as soon as she spots Cosima looking their way, she lets go. Cosima hurries over to them and, before Delphine can open her mouth, Cosima asks to borrow Scott and leads him out of the lunchroom and into an empty classroom.

“What’s up, Cosima? Is this about Delphine?” Scott asks.

“Yes, actually.”

“Look, you know this whole thing with us is just for show, there’s nothing going on,” he quickly speaks. “She’s a great girl and all, but I am not interested in anything more than her helping with my image. I’m not looking to step on anyone’s toes here?”

“Yeah, Scotty, chill, this isn’t about the two of you and you’re fictional little love story. This is about my dad’s machine. I found out what it does.”

“What? How?”

“I asked him,” Cosima admits.

“Are you kidding me? It was that easy? What was with the government level encryption?”

“Well, that’s the thing, he swore me to secrecy.”

“Oh come on, you’re really not gonna tell me?”

“I did promise him, _but_ I had my fingers crossed when I said it, so yeah, of course I’m gonna tell you. But now I need you to promise me you won’t spill. So hold your hands where I can see them, no crossing of fingers from you.”

Scott holds up his hands. “I promise. Now what kind of doll to human animating device has he got going on?”

“That’s just it, he doesn’t. The machine extends the freshness of fruits and vegetables.”

“Are you messing with me?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure he’s not messing with you?”

“Scott, my dad is the worst liar in the world, if he was being dishonest, I’d know. He was on the up and up. He’s working with the FDA, which explains the governmental involvement.”

“So we still don’t know how Delphine is possible?”

“I think it must have to with the timing of that lightning strike, but still, no solid reason for her existence.”

“Damn,” Scott shakes his head.

“Yeah, no shit dude, this is complex. Come on, I’m hungry and you shouldn’t leave your lovely lunch date waiting.”

Cosima and Scott return to the cafeteria and Delphine immediately perks up when she sees them walk in. She had chosen the seat next to Cosima, so Scott sits opposite them.

Cosima glances at the food in Delphine’s hand and smiles. “Taco Tuesday, gotta love it.”

“It’s my favorite!” Delphine exclaims.

Cosima holds up hers and indicates for Delphine to clink their tacos together. “Bon appétit!”

Beth nearly chokes on her food as she starts laughing mid chew. All eyes turn in her direction.

Alison smacks her on the back. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just took too big a bite,” Beth responds, looking around and catching Sarah’s eye, who gives her a knowing wink.

In photography, the class works on developing the film from their wildlife photo shoot. Cosima got a great shot of the squirrel eating an acorn, while Delphine managed to snap a perfect picture of her butterfly with it’s wings fully extended. The pictures they each took of the other causes a massive giggle fit, especially one of Delphine that, according to Cosima, is pure puppy.

“See, Delphine? What did I tell you? You’re the puppy. This one is going up on the board in my bedroom.”

“No, Cosima, do not,” Delphine protests.

“Come on, I always wanted my own pin-up puppy,” Cosima teases and, despite her words to the contrary, Delphine can’t help but be a little flattered that Cosima wants to hang a photo of her up in her room.

“You’re impossible. Just finish developing your film,” Delphine playfully chastises.

A few minutes later, Cosima shouts, “Holy watershed! Delphine, look at this. It was a Painted Redstart! I was worried it was really just an America Redstart, but with that red belly, it’s definitely a Painted.”

Delphine can’t help but be enchanted by Cosima’s childlike exuberance. “It really is beautiful, Cosima. That one,” she points to one of the photos, “is a great shot, almost like a painting.”

“Yeah, Cos, you’ve got a real artist’s eye,” Felix remarks as he peers over her shoulder at the photo.

“Thanks. I think I’m going to frame this one and give it to my mom,” Cosima grins widely. “She’s gonna flip.”

As they walk to Chemistry, Cosima is gesticulating wildly as she describes the frame she’s going to buy for her print and where she wants her mom to hang it. Delphine is trying to listen, but she can’t help staring at those hands, desperately wanting to grab one in her own and hold onto it as they walk. Finally, she can’t help it anymore, she reaches for Cosima’s right hand with her left.

Cosima stops mid-sentence and looks down at her hand, which is now being held tightly in Delphine’s. She slowly glances up at Delphine’s face, with a confused expression on her own.

Delphine, overcome with nervousness, and afraid of what Cosima must be thinking, quickly gives the hand in hers a squeeze. “Your mom is really going to love it, Cosima.”

Cosima grins as Delphine slowly lets go of her hand as they enter the classroom. Scott comes up to them and Delphine simply pats his shoulder. “Hi Scott.”

Cosima observes the less than affectionate gesture with a raised brow. As they sit at their table, she leans into Delphine. “Um, Delphine, is something wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“That greeting wasn’t exactly selling the whole true romance thing you and Scotty have going on.”

“Oh, uh, well I don’t think it’s all that important in this class.” She gestures to their fellow science nerds.

Cosima chuckles. “True, true. You could probably just give Scott a high five and those boys would think it was romantic.”

As the girls work on their latest lab, Dr. Leekie stops by and remarks what a great team they make. When he walks away, Cosima turns to Delphine. “He’s actually right you know, we do make a great team.”

“Hm, yeah, I guess you could say we have chemistry,” Delphine responds, looking deep into Cosima’s goggle protected eyes.

Cosima starts laughing. “Good one, Delphine. So punny.”

Though Delphine laughs with Cosima, inside her heart longs to admit it wasn't a joke.

And when her own laughter subsides, Cosima can’t stop thinking about how much she would like to show Delphine just how great their chemistry could be.

At gym class the two teams get to play an actual game, finally, as they had fast grown bored with skill lessons. Beth and Aynsley are chosen as centers and Rachel warms the bench for the Nuggets. At the jump, Aynsley easily gets the ball, passing it to Meera who takes it to the hoop, scoring a 2 pointer. Alison takes the ball out for the Nuggets, passing it to Beth who is able to bound down the court before having her shot blocked by Stubbs. The game continues with the Towers leading the Nuggets by a wide margin. Whenever Delphine has possession of the ball, Rachel shouts from the bench, “Watch out for Cormier, she may break your nose.”

In the final seconds of the game, though they have no chance at catching up, Cosima is finally passed the ball, having been completely bypassed thus far. Delphine moves in to defend, her arms waving wildly as Cosima tries to get a clear view of the basket to take a shot. Suddenly, Cosima rolls her body into Delphine, working her away around the taller girl. The unexpected contact leaves Delphine frozen in place, allowing Cosima to shoot the ball unobstructed, sinking the ball just as the buzzer sounds and the Towers prevail 56 to 28. Despite her team’s loss, Cosima can’t help smiling at her own personal victory. She turns to Delphine, who is still stuck in place.

“Bet you weren’t expecting that, were ya?” Cosima proudly asks.

“No, I, uh, that was impressive. Where’d you learn that?” Delphine stammers out.

“Oh Delphine, I’ve got plenty of moves you haven’t seen yet.” Cosima winks before she turns and heads towards the locker room.

Delphine continues to stand on the court, the feeling of Cosima’s body as it moved against hers echoing in her bones. _Wait a second_ , she thinks, _was she just flirting with me?_ She quickly shakes the thought from her mind, certain that’s not what just happened.

_Right?_


	14. Room For Two

The rest of the week proceeds with Delphine trying her best to be a convincing girlfriend to Scott, while thinking of nothing else but Cosima. Rehearsals for the musical continue to go well as Delphine channels all of her unresolved feelings into her performance. She also makes headway in tutoring Ramon, who has begun to gawk a little less and learn a little more.

As Friday rolls around, Delphine wakes up feeling nervous, as she and Beth will be presenting their case in Criminal Law later that day. They prepared and practiced for hours after Delphine’s rehearsal Thursday night and Beth left confident that they would prevail, but Delphine isn’t so sure. Delphine jumps into the shower and gets dressed. She still has time before Beth picks her up for school, so she heads into the kitchen, turns on the coffee pot, and starts whipping up breakfast, all the while trying to remain as quiet as possible so as not to wake the rest of the household. 

As she pours her coffee into a mug, she is startled by a poke to her back. She spills coffee on the countertop as she jumps at the touch, spinning around to find a tired looking Cosima behind her.

“Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Here, let me help you clean up the spill.” Cosima grabs paper towels and starts patting down the coffee before it drips onto the floor.

“Cosima, what are you doing down here, did I wake you?”

“No.”

“Wait, are you sleep walking right now?”

“No,” Cosima laughs. “I - well, I kinda set my alarm to wake me up early.” 

“Why would you do that? Do you have somewhere to be?”

“No, I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you were worried last night about the trial and I kinda figured you’d still be nervous this morning, so I just thought you might need some encouragement or just someone to talk to.”

If Delphine wasn’t already crushing on Cosima, she’s pretty sure she would be totally gone after that. Not only is she being incredibly sweet and caring, she also looks ridiculously adorable in her pajamas with that sleepy look on her face. It takes all of her strength not to lunge for Cosima and pull her into a kiss. 

“That’s very kind of you, Cosima. Thank you. And, yes, I am very nervous. A large part of our grade depends on our performance today and it’s not just me, I don’t want to let Beth down.”

“Hey, you won’t. Listen to me.” Cosima grabs Delphine’s hands. “I heard you guys prepping in your room last night and your argument sounded good to me. It was clear, concise, persuasive. You are going to kill it. Beth is one of the most arrogant people I know, and I say that with love, she’s gonna go in there and own it and that’s what you need to do. You gotta walk in there prepared and confident. You’re up against Art and Angie, yeah? Well, they’re good, but they’re not perfect.”

“I’m not perfect either, Cosima,” Delphine states, eyes downcast.

“I don’t know, I think you’re pretty perfect.” Delphine glances up at Cosima’s words. “You haven’t made one misstep since showing up on my door. You basically started with a clean slate, a stranger in a strange land, so to speak, and somehow you’ve managed to excel at everything thrown at you, whether it’s scholastic, athletic, or dramatic. You also put a mega-bitch out of commission and helped bolster Scott’s image and confidence as a result. And, hey, you’ve improved my life dramatically.”

Delphine laughs to cover the blush spreading over her face. “Oh yeah, how so?” 

“Well, until you appeared, I was planning on spending the whole week my parents were away eating junk food and playing video games.”

“You still did those things,” Delphine points out. 

“Yes, but that’s not all I did, and I didn’t have to do it all alone. I mean yeah, Scott came over, but his mom would never let him stay on school nights, neither would any of my other friends’ parents. Despite what I told my folks, I didn’t really want to be alone for a whole week. But I’m practically an adult, I know I should be able to spend a week on my own, so I told them I could handle it. But not 5 minutes after they left, I was on the phone summoning Scotty. Then, hours later, you appeared and you needed a place to stay and, for all intents and purposes, a new life. So you gave me motivation, whether it was going shopping or hacking into the school system, these past two weeks I’ve been excited to get up in the morning. And yeah, maybe not super early, but, still, you’ve given me something to look forward to every time I open my eyes. So, yeah, what was my point? Oh yeah, you, Delphine, are perfect. You’re a bright light on the gloomiest of San Francisco days.”

“Cosima, I-“

“Wait, I’m not finished puffing up your ego. I am so honored and proud that I can call you my friend, my best friend. And, as your best friend, you are obligated to listen to and trust everything I say, and I say you are going to kick ass today. And win or lose, you just gotta do your best, that’s all anyone can ask of you.”

There is so much Delphine wants to say, needs to say, but just as she opens her mouth, a car horn beeps, signaling Beth’s arrival. “That’s Beth, I should get going. Cosima, thank you, for everything you said, it means so much to me and as perfect as you think I am, I think you’re twice as perfect.” She gives Cosima a big hug before grabbing her things and rushing to the door. 

“Wait, Delphine.” Cosima shouts and Delphine turns back. “Your coffee.” Cosima quickly pours the contents of Delphine’s mug into a travel mug and rushes to hand it to her. “You don’t want to head into the world without a little caffeination.”

“Thank you. And please help yourself to some scrambled eggs. I’ll see you in a little while,” Delphine says as she heads out the door. 

Cosima heads back into the kitchen, pours some coffee for herself, piles eggs onto her plate and sits down at the table. As she takes a bite of her breakfast and a sip of her coffee, she has a realization. “Shit, I forget to mention how perfect she is at making coffee and, apparently, at preparing scrambled eggs.” She thinks a little more over everything she just said to Delphine. “Damn, Cosima, why didn’t you just tell her she’s gorgeous and, like, profess your massive fucking crush while you were busy running your mouth. The friend thing was smart though, conceal don’t feel, like Elsa would say.”

“Cosima, are you having a nice conversation with yourself?” Don asks from the doorway.

Cosima reddens, hoping her dad didn’t catch that entire one-sided conversation. “Yup, nobody I’d rather talk to than me. Um, well, I better get ready for school. Delphine made breakfast, help yourself.” She rushes out of the kitchen and up the stairs, passing her mom along the way and quickly informing her about breakfast.

Nancy joins Don in the kitchen. “What is with our whirling dervish of a daughter this morning?”

“If I had to take an educated guess, I’d say love.”

“You sensed that too, huh?” Nancy smiles. 

“Wears her heart on her sleeve, that one does,” Don replies. “You think it’s one-sided?”

“Are you kidding? I know we haven’t known Delphine long, but I’d recognize the look in her eyes anywhere.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, it’s the same way I looked at you when I started to fall for your quirky charm.” Nancy punctuates her statement with a kiss to her husband’s lips. 

\- - - - - - 

Delphine doesn’t say much as Beth drives them to school. After a few minutes of silence, Beth pipes up. “Why so quiet?”

“Sorry, just got a lot on my mind.”

“You still nervous about our trial?”

“A little, but Cosima helped calm me down. I was a bit of a mess earlier.”

“Cosima’s awake already?”

“Yeah, she was concerned, wanted to make sure I was ok.”

“Wow, that’s thoughtful. Oh, that reminds me, are we still on for the other thing?”

“Yes, it’s all set.”

“Cool.”

They arrive at school and go their separate ways, reuniting an hour later for Psych.

Delphine’s eyes remain fixed on the door to their classroom, waiting for Cosima’s arrival. Sure enough, if by sheer force of will, Cosima bounds in, a mass of energy, not at all like her usual sleepy self.

She greets the girls. “Good morning, Beth. Hello again, Sunshine.” 

“Sunshine?” Delphine questions.

“Yeah, like I said, bright light on gloomy day.”

“How much coffee have you had?” Delphine wonders.

“Enough. Oh, by the way, that breakfast was eggs-cellent!” Cosima exclaims.

Delphine laughs so loudly that everyone turns around to look at her. She quickly covers her mouth, embarrassed by her outburst, and slaps at Cosima playfully.

Dr. Bowers glares at them before passing back their tests and reviewing the answers. To her surprise, and despite her distracted state the precious day, Delphine earned a B. 

When the class ends, Beth gives Delphine a fist bump and tells her she’ll see her in a bit and reminds her they’re gonna kick ass. Throughout Trig and English, Delphine can hardly concentrate as she keeps checking her notes for the trial. Cosima walks Delphine to Criminal Law, hoping to help calm her frazzled nerves. 

“Delphine, you got this. Look at me.” She takes her hand and gently tilts Delphine’s head from its gaze on the floor up to her eyes. “I’m not a legal expert by any stretch, but can I give you a pro tip?”

Delphine nods. 

“From what I heard last night, Rachel is the key witness for the prosecution, right?”

Delphine nods again. 

“Ok, so in your cross, you just gotta shake her, do what ever you can to discredit her statement.”

“But Rachel is unflappable, almost robotic,” Delphine insists.

“I’ve known Rachel for a while, and while she’s most definitely a stone-cold bitch, she has a hard time dealing with confrontation. Her and Sarah once went at it and I’m certain I saw genuine fear in her eyes as Sarah railed at her, her fist thisclose to Rachel’s face. Now, I’m not saying to go that far, but just be tough, shake her confidence. Make her question the validity of her own statement. Did she really see your client commit the robbery?”

“Cosima, how much of our prep session did you overhear?”

“All of it,” Cosima sheepishly admits. “I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but I just thought it was kinda adorable listening to you in lawyer mode.”

Delphine smiles. “That’s okay, and thank you, again, for your help. I think I’m ready.”

“Think?”

“Non, I am ready.”

“That’s what I want to hear. Alright, go get ‘em, kid,” she punctuates with a playful shot in the arm, then leans forward and pulls Delphine into a hug. Just then, Beth peeks her head out of the classroom.

“Delphine, it’s go time. Come on.”

Cosima pulls out of the embrace, looking Delphine in the eyes. “Go ahead, you don’t want the judge to dock you for being late to court, counselor. Good luck.”

“Thank you.” 

Cosima gives her one last thumbs up before heading down the hall. Delphine takes a deep breath and steps into the classroom. 

Almost 50 minutes later, Cosima is sitting at the lunch table, eyes on the door, legs bouncing, fingers tapping, eager to find out how Delphine did. Finally, after what seems like forever, but is probably a few minutes, Delphine arrives. She doesn’t look happy. Beth’s got her arm around her in consolation, Scott following grimly behind. They slowly approach the table.

“Not good?” Cosima asks, once they arrive.

“No, not good,” Delphine replies solemnly and Cosima’s face saddens in empathy. “It went great!” Delphine exclaims. “We won!”

“What? Did you seriously just fucking play me like that? Et tu, Scotty?”

“Sorry, Cosima, it was Delphine’s idea and I was happy to play along.”

“I hate all three of you and your phony, sad looking faces,” Cosima says in mock anger before her frown turns upside down into a gigantic smile as she looks up at Delphine. “Congratulations! I’m not one to say I told you so, but I told you so.”

“Yes, you did. And your advice helped. I was able to discredit Rachel.”

“Oh man, you shoulda seen Delphine go after her, firing rapid questions, wearing her down til she started fumbling her witness account. It was amazing,” Beth recounts. 

Art comes over and congratulates them. “Great job, you two, you bested us. I think Angie is still back there trying to convince Rosen to change his verdict.”

“Yeah, Dipshit, you weren’t half-bad yourself. I just lucked out with this badass partner,” Beth says pointing towards Delphine. 

“She was great, but you were damn good yourself, Beth. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to partner up one of these days.”

“You betcha,” Beth responds.

“Cosima, Beth and I are planning to go out after school to celebrate, you’re welcome to join,” Delphine says.

“Oh, I’d love to celebrate with you, but my mom texted me and asked me to come right home when I’m done here, so I better see what’s going on. Don’t you have rehearsal?”

“No, the scenes they’re running today don’t involve Cosette, so I got the afternoon off. Do you think it’s serious, whatever your mom needs to see you about? Maybe I should go with you.”

“Nah, I’m sure it’s nothing. You should go, celebrate your victory.”

“Hey, Cos, speaking of celebrating, you excited for your birthday tomorrow, when our little geek monkey turns 18?” Sarah asks.   
“Yeah, can’t wait,” Cosima smiles.

“Your mom is baking that cake, right?”

“Yes, Helena, she is, just like every year,” Cosima responds with an eye roll.

“Good,” Helena grins, licking her lips.

They finish lunch and proceed through the rest of their classes. At the end of the day, Cosima walks with Beth and Delphine to the parking lot, stopping at Beth’s car. 

“Ok, you legal eagles, have fun.” 

“We will,” Beth promises.

“Make sure you get her home at a reasonable hour,” Cosima jokes.

“Sure thing.”

“Cosima, please text Beth if anything serious is going on at home and you need me.” Delphine beseeches.

“I will, but don’t worry, I’m sure it’s nothing to be alarmed about, they probably just want to talk about the party. You go have a good time.” 

“Ok, bye Cosima, see you later.” Delphine gets in the car and Cosima starts walking towards hers.

Beth starts the engine, turning to Delphine. “Earlier, when you asked her to join us, what were you gonna do if she actually agreed? Wouldn’t that sorta ruin what we need to do?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think that far ahead,” Delphine admits.

“Good thing you were a lot more clear headed during our trial or this victory celebration would have been a pity party,” Beth kids as she pulls out of the parking lot. 

As Cosima approaches her car, she sees a familiar face over by the bike rack and changes course. 

“Hey, Ramon,” she says tapping the boy on the back.

Ramon swings around. “Hello, Ms. Niehaus. What can I do for you on this lovely afternoon?”

“The usual.” She pulls some cash out her bag and hands it to him. He counts it, places it in his pocket and whips a small plastic bag out of his backpack, discreetly looking around before handing it over.

“Thanks, man. That’s a nice bike you’ve got there.”

“Yeah, but not really practical for work. I can’t wait till I get my license. I’ve got a sweet, lime green sports car all picked out.”

“Lime green, huh, that’s subtle. So, I hear you’re being tutored in French.”

“Oui, by the lovely Ms. Cormier,” Ramon smiles.

“Yeah, Delphine is lovely, isn’t she?”

“Oh yeah.”

“So how much you paying her?”

“$25 an hour.”

“Wow, dude, you’re getting a hell of a deal, no pun intended. Do you realize how much a true Parisian, such as Delphine, could actually charge for their tutelage? Man, I sure hope you’re tipping her properly.”

“Tipping?”

“Yeah, you know, extra money for good service. Tipping is especially crucial when the one being tutored is really only getting the tutoring so as to spend an hour with a pretty girl.”

“Ms. Niehaus, I would never.”

“Yeah, of course not. Anyway, I think a 100% tip is customary in these situations. Surely someone such as yourself with the means and sharp business acumen can understand the importance of fair pay for services rendered. Don’t you agree?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess you have a point.”

“Good. Nice doing business with you, Ramon. Have a great weekend.”

“Thanks, you too.” 

Cosima turns and strides to her car with a cheshire size grin on her face.

Cosima makes a quick pitstop before making her way home. She walks in the front door to find her parents waiting for her on the living room couch, looking somber.  
“Mom? Dad? What’s going on? Is something wrong?” She asks worriedly. 

“It’s about your grandmother,” Don says.

“Oh no, what happened?” Cosima screams, voice trembling. 

“Nothing,” a voice announces. “I’m right here.” 

Cosima turns to see her grandma standing by the kitchen, then turns back to her parents, who are trying to stifle their laughter. 

“Are you kidding me? You nearly gave me a heart attack. What the hell is with people punking me today?” She grabs a couple throw pillows and tosses them at her parents before rushing over to hug her grandma.

“Gram, what are you doing here?”

“You think I’d miss my favorite granddaughter’s 18th birthday?”

“I’m your only granddaughter,” Cosima reminds.

“Even more of a reason,” Gram replies.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“They’re called surprises for a reason, Cosima,” Don remarks.

“Come, sit, I want to hear all about what’s going on in your life,” Gram says, leading Cosima to the couch. 

“There’s not much to tell, same old, same old.”

“Nonsense. Tell me about your studies, where you applied to school, if there’s anyone special in your life.”

Nancy and Don excuse themselves to start preparing dinner, leaving Cosima and Gram alone.

Cosima proceeds to tell Gram all about her classes, about teaching Freshman Bio, and which schools she’s applied to. 

“Are you going to avoid my last question?” Gram asks.

“What would that be again, I can’t remember?”

“Sure you can’t. Is there someone special in your life?”

“No, I’m not dating anyone, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“That’s crazy, surely my beautiful granddaughter must be beating admirers off with a stick.”

Cosima laughs. “Nope, no beatings taking place in my life.”

“Didn’t you say you were seeing someone over the summer, what happened with that?”

“Oh, that, that was just a little summer fling, nothing serious.”

“So, is there anyone you have your eye on now.”

Cosima hesitates, weighing how much, if anything, she wants to reveal. “I’m always looking, just not finding.”

“Give it time, I’m sure the right girl will come along,” Gram says, with a comforting pat on Cosima’s knee.

Just then the front door swings open and in walks Delphine. 

“Well, who do we have here? Is there a child my son failed to inform me about?”

Cosima jumps up. “Gram, this is Delphine, she’s a French foreign exchange student. She’s staying with us while she finishes school here in San Fran. Delphine, this is my grandmother, Hannah, my Dad’s mom.”

“Hello, Mrs. Niehaus, it’s very lovely to meet you.” Delphine extends her hand.

Gram shakes her hand. “And you as well, Delphine. Please call me Gram, all Cosima’s friends do.” 

“Ok, Gram.”

“So, Delphine, how was the celebration?”

“It was good, we had a lot of fun.”

“Celebration?” Gram asks.

“Yeah, Delphine and Beth were paired for a case in Criminal Law which they won today and went out after school to celebrate their victory.”

“Ah, how nice. Are you interested in pursuing a career in the law, Delphine?” Gram asks. 

“No, actually, like Cosima, I want to be a scientist.”

“Oh, really? Any particular area of study?”

“I’m not 100% sure, but I think I’d like to study immunology,” Delphine replies, surprising Cosima, who hasn’t heard Delphine mention immunology before. In fact, she realizes this is the first time Delphine’s been willing to talk about any future plans.

“Well, we should definitely talk more. I don’t know if Cosima has mentioned it, but I was an Oncologist at UCSF for over 40 years before I retired and moved down to Miami.”

“That’s amazing. I’d love to pick your brain, hear all about your career,” Delphine says, impressed.

Cosima can’t help but marvel at the change in Delphine’s demeanor. Just a few days ago she wouldn’t even talk about going to college and now she’s thinking about a career path. 

Nancy announces that dinner is ready and Gram heads into the dining room. Cosima turns to Delphine as they trail behind.

“Immunology, huh? Where’d that come from?” Cosima asks.

“Oh, just something I’ve been looking into recently. It’s a fascinating subject.”

“Yeah, it is,” Cosima smiles.

Over dinner, Gram regals Delphine with tales of her studies, her career, and some of the interesting and complicated cases she dealt with. Delphine is captivated by it all. A look of wonder on her face at the stories Gram has to tell and Cosima can’t help herself from staring at Delphine throughout the meal.

After a while, Gram starts to yawn. “Sorry, I’m still on eastern time. I think I need to get some shut eye.”

“Oh, Delphine, I hope you don’t mind, but mom will be using the guest room while she’s here,” Don announces.

“No, of course not,” Delphine responds.

“Cosima, you don’t mind sharing your room with Delphine this weekend, do you?” Nancy asks.

Cosima’s eyes widen. “Um, sure, yeah, I mean no, I don’t mind. Uh, come on, Delphine, let’s move your stuff over to my room.” The girls hurry upstairs.

Gram turns to Nancy and Don. “Delphine is quite a lovely young lady.”

Nancy and Don nod in agreement.

“And Cosima seems quite taken with her,” Gram continues.

“You noticed?” Nancy asks.

“It’s pretty obvious, she hardly took her eyes off Delphine from the moment she entered the house.”

“Yes, and you, my dear wife, just put them in the same room together.” Don adds. “I wish my mom was that cool when I was a teenager.”

“Hey,” Gram yells. “I was most certainly ‘cool.’ ”

“Don, unlike your mother, I don’t have to worry about my child knocking up, or getting knocked up for that matter, if she shares a bed with her crush,” Nancy reminds. “Besides, she’s about to turn 18. As much as I hate to admit it, she’s not a baby anymore.”

\- - - - - -

Cosima helps Delphine transfers her belongings from the guest room into her room and makes some space in the closet for her clothing. “I’m sorry you’re losing your room for the weekend.”

“Nonsense, it’s not my room, your grandmother is certainly entitled to it.”

“Well, I’m sorry my room is such a mess. Here, let me tidy up a bit.”

“Cosima, stop, I don’t mind the clutter.”

“Ok, well, about the sleeping situation, you can take the bed, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“What? No, Cosima, this is your room. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“No way, it won’t be comfortable being on the floor all weekend and Alison will kill me if you have a bad back and can’t perform to your utmost. Look, uh, my bed is big enough for the both of us, we can just share.”

Delphine’s mouth drops open. “You want to share the bed?”

“Yeah it’ll be fine, really. I hope you don’t mind the right side, cause the left is mine.”

“No, the right is fine,” Delphine smiles. 

“Great. Oh, Delphine, before I forget, I got you something.” Cosima pulls a package out of her bag and hands it to Delphine.

“You got me a present?”

“Yup. Open it.”

Delphine unfurls the package and pulls out the gift. “A cellphone? Cosima, you got me a phone?”

“Yeah, well when you mentioned me texting Beth earlier if there was a problem here, I realized how ridiculous it is that you don’t have a phone. What teenager doesn’t have a cellphone? So I stopped at the store and got you one.”

“Cosima, I can’t accept this, it’s too much.”

“No, Delphine, it’s not, really. And I already added you to my plan, it’s only $10 more a month than what I was paying and the phone was included, so you really have no excuse not to take it.”

“Fine, but I’m giving you that $10 a month.” Delphine turns the phone on and starts fiddling with it. “Hmm, looks like I already have one number stored in contacts.”

“Yeah, I, um, I programmed mine in,” Cosima says shyly. She whips out her own phone, quickly pressing some buttons. A second later Delphine’s phone beeps. She glances down at the text message alert. 

“Oh, looks like I have a text from someone named Cosima, Hmm, wonder what that could be.” Delphine opens up the text message and reads it aloud. “Text me, maybe?” She laughs, “Yes, Cosima, I will definitely text you. Thank you.” Delphine pulls Cosima into a hug. They stay in the embrace for a while, neither wanting to be the first to let go. Eventually, Cosima has to sneeze, so she extricates herself, turns, grabs a tissue, and “achoo.” 

“Bless you.” Delphine says while thinking even her sneezes are charming.

“Thanks. Uh, well, I guess we should get ready for bed.” Delphine nods her agreement. 

Delphine heads to the bathroom, while Cosima rummages though her drawers for pajamas. Delphine soon returns in her nightgown. Cosima’s mouth goes dry at the sight and then she quickly excuses herself to the bathroom. Cosima returns in her pajamas, while Delphine is looking at the cork board on Cosima’s wall.

Delphine turns when she hears the door shut. “Cosima, I can’t believe you actually put the photograph up here.”

“What? I told you I would. Come on, it’s my favorite and you look totes adorbs.” 

“Ugh, fine. Keep it up here if you insist.” Delphine relents as she walks over to the bed and lays down on the right side. 

“So, monkeys, huh?” Delphine says, pointing at Cosima’s pajamas. 

“Oh, yeah,” Cosima responds glancing down at her outfit. “It’s childish, I know.” 

“No, it’s cute,” Delphine insists. 

Cosima feels her cheeks redden so she quickly shuts the lights and then crawls onto her side of the bed. 

“Good night, Delphine.”

“Good night, Cosima.”

They turn their backs to one another, each as close to the edge of the bed as they can get, leaving a large gap between them that could easily fit two more bodies. They lay in silence for a while, neither able to fall asleep, too aware of the other’s presence just an arm’s length away.

Eventually, Delphine glances at the digital clock.

“Cosima?” Delphine calls out quietly, unsure if she's still awake.

“Yeah?” Cosima answers.

“Happy Birthday!”


	15. The Birthday Girl

Cosima wakes up, stretches her arms over her head, then grabs her glasses off the bedside table. Slipping them on, she turns to look over at Delphine, but finds that side of the bed empty instead. She glances at the clock, it’s 11am.

Cosima gets up, sticks her feet in her slippers and pulls on her robe. She wanders downstairs and into the kitchen to find her parents sitting at the table, sipping coffee and reading the newspaper, while Delphine and Gram are standing by the stove.

“Oh, look who decided to join us,” Gram says, noticing Cosima. “Happy Birthday, sweetie.” She walks over and hugs Cosima. Don and Nancy follow her lead, wishing their daughter a happy birthday with hugs and kisses.

Delphine smiles at the scene. “Happy Birthday, again, Cosima.” She says as the others release their grip on Cosima.

“Thank you,” Cosima smiles back.

“Cosima, please have a seat. Delphine and I were just preparing your birthday breakfast,” Gram announces.

“Oh?” Cosima asks.

“Yes, Gram has been teaching me how to make your favorite.”

“Wait, you don’t mean?”

“Yes, my dear, my famous Chili Omelette Supreme.”

“Oh my god!” Cosima says excitedly.

Delphine plates the meal and places it in front of an eager Cosima. “Mademoiselle, I present to you the Chili Omelette Supreme filled with turkey chili, chopped potato, red onions and cheddar cheese, topped with sliced avocado and cilantro, served with a side of salsa fresca and sour cream. Bon appétit!”

Cosima stares, mouth agape, at the dish in front of her.

“Cosima, are you going to salivate over the plate or are you going to actually eat it?” Her dad laughs.

Cosima slices into the omelette and spears at it with her fork, bringing it up to her lips and taking a bite. She chews, chews, chews, swallows. Everyone’s eyes watching her every move, awaiting her reaction.

“Mom, Dad, Gram, please excuse my language, but holy shit this is incredible! Gram, you’ve outdone yourself.”

“Actually, Delphine did all the hard work, I just instructed,” Gram admits.

Cosima turns to face Delphine. “Delphine, thank you. I thought your scrambled eggs were good, but this, this is unreal. I’m adding incredible cook to the list of things you’re amazing at.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Delphine responds happily.

“Like? No. More like love,” Cosima says as she stuffs her face.

Delphine places a mug of coffee beside Cosima’s plate, from which Cosima immediately takes a sip before resuming her eating.

“Aren’t any of you going to join me?” Cosima asks between bites.

“We all ate already, we’ve been up for a couple hours,” Nancy responds.

Cosima grins, sheepishly. “Oh. So, we have time before dinner, what are we gonna do today?”

“Well, I am going to bake the cake and your grandmother wants to prepare the meal, so that leaves you, Delphine and Dad to your own devices.”

“Delphine, what do you wanna do?” Cosima asks.

“It’s your birthday, Cosima, you decide,” Delphine insists.

“Ok, well, I’m 18 now, so why don’t we go buy lotto tickets, smoke cigarettes, and see a dirty movie.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Don responds gleefully.

“Well I’m not 18, so it would just have to be you two.”

“We were only kidding, Del,” Cosima chuckles.

Delphine laughs, feeling embarrassed she didn’t realize.

“When’s your birthday, Delphine?” Gram asks.

“December 21st,” Cosima quickly offers, earning a confused look from Delphine.

“How’d you know that?” She questions.

“Oh, uh, you must have told me.”

“No, I don’t remember that.”

“Then how else would I know?”

“I don’t know, but I think I’d recall mentioning it.”

“Hmm, beats me.” Cosima responds, though in her mind she flashes back nearly 10 years to a little birthday party she threw for doll Delphine on December 21st.

“Ok, so we have like 6 hours, how about The Exploratorium?”

“That’s a great idea, Cosima, we haven’t been there in ages,” Don enthuses.

“What is it?” Delphine asks.

“Only the most super-fun, hands-on science museum in town,” Cosima states.

“Sounds fun, let’s do it.”

“Great, I’ll get dressed. Oh, but before I do, hang on a sec.” Cosima runs up stairs and returns a couple minutes later, handing her mom a large gift bag.

“What’s this, Cosima?” Nancy asks.

“It was going to be your Mother’s Day gift, but I have zero restraint, so think of it as a thank you gift for being such a great mom for the last 18 years.”

Nancy reaches into the bag and pulls out a solid object wrapped in tissue paper. She tears off the paper, revealing a beautiful white wooden frame, then she notices the photograph. “Cosima, is this a Painted Redstart?”

“Yup.”

“Where’d you get this beautiful shot of it?”

“I took it in the park across from the school.”

“She did, I was there,” Delphine adds.

“It’s beautiful, I can’t believe you saw a Painted, that is unbelievable. I’m jealous. I really love this, thank you so much.” Nancy hugs and kisses her daughter.

“I already picked a spot for it, in the entryway between the front door and living room.” Cosima takes the frame and her mom follows as she hangs it in the intended spot.

“It looks great,” Nancy approves. “Alright, go get dressed, you’ve got a big day ahead of you.”

Cosima giddily scampers up the steps returning 20 minutes later.

“I’m ready!” She announces.

Don and Delphine meet her by the front door and they head out, arriving at the museum 27 minutes later.

Don purchases tickets and they head into the museum. “Ok, girls, I’m going to the outdoor gallery, you have fun and meet me back here at 5 o’clock,” Don says as heads off.

“So what do you want to do first?” Delphine asks, grabbing a map.

Cosima leans in, looking over the map. “Tactile dome!” Cosima shouts as she grabs Delphine’s hand and leads the way. They spend the afternoon running around the museum like children, laughing and experimenting with everything they can get their hands on.

When 5 o’clock rolls around, Don is hanging out in the designated spot waiting for the girls. He stands there for about 10 minutes before he hears a familiar laughter in the distance and spots the girls heading his way.

“Cosima, that was so much fun,” Delphine enthuses.

“Yeah, I’m glad I got to share this place with you, there’s no one else I’d rather make crazy science with.” She pauses, realizing how that probably just sounded, but Delphine smiles.

“Same, Cosima, truly.”

“On-time as usual, Cosima. Good to see old age hasn’t changed you,” Don jokes as the girls walk up to him.

“Hey, we still have plenty of time to get home before the party,” Cosima protests.

“Are you saying you don’t want to be late to your own party? Cause I could drive really slowly.”

“Funny, Dad, so funny.”

They arrive home at 5:45 and walk through the front door to find that the living room has been transformed to resemble a lab. There’s science imagery blanketing the walls, pictures of scientists and science equipment, and chains of double helices are hung like streamers.

“This is rad!” Cosima exclaims as she looks around at the detail.

Just then Nancy enters the living room.

“Mom, you and Gram did all this while we were out?”

“Oh, we had help,” Nancy says as Alison comes out of the kitchen with Gram.

“Alison! I should have known this was your handiwork.”

“Happy Birthday, Cosima. Do you like it? Is it sciency enough?” Alison asks.

“Yeah, totally, thanks,” Cosima says as she hugs Alison. “I haven’t had a theme party in a while.”

“Yeah,” Nancy says. “There’s a special reason for it this year. Sit down for a moment.”

“Um, ok, what’s going on?” Cosima asks nervously as she sits on the couch.

Nancy walks out of the room, returning seconds later holding a large envelope. “This came for you yesterday,” she says as she hands it to Cosima. “It’s pretty thick.”

Cosima looks at the return address. “University of Minnesota! Oh my god!” She exclaims as she tears the envelope open and pulls out the letter. _“Dear Ms. Niehaus, Congratulations! It is with great pleasure that I inform you of your admission into the University of Minnesota…”_ She stops reading and looks up at her parents who are beaming with pride. She jumps off the couch and hugs them, then she hugs her grandma, then Alison pulls her in for a hug. When Alison lets go, she turns and faces Delphine.

“Congratulations, Cosima. I am so happy for you,” Delphine says as she opens her arms.

“Thanks,” Cosima responds as she accepts the offered embrace.

When they break apart, Cosima quickly dabs at tears starting to form in her eyes.

“So this is a hell of a way to start a party, huh?” Cosima laughs. “I’m freakin' going to study biology at the University of Minnesota!”

Just then the doorbell rings. Don opens it to reveal Cosima’s friends, who all pile into the house. They head straight for Cosima, wishing her a happy birthday and handing her gifts.

Helena looks around. “This is a lot of science.”

“Yeah, Helena, it is. Cosima, do you want to tell them why?” Nancy says, turning to her daughter.

“Guys, I just got accepted to the University of Minnesota!” Cosima yelps.

They all scream and shout their congratulations, all of them knowing that’s where she’s always wanted to go. After the excitement dies down, Gram announces that dinner is ready and they all pile into the dining room.

Dinner is served and they all dig in.

“This is bloody delicious!” Sarah exclaims

“This food is very good, but there will cake, yes?” Helena asks.

“Yes, Helena, the cake is coming,” Nancy responds with a laugh.

Conversation turns to college plans, with Alison announcing she will be studying kinesiology at San Francisco State. Sarah plans to start at City College and then transfer to a school in Los Angeles to be closer to Cal. Helena says she’s going to take the next year off and motorbike through Europe. Beth and Art, to each other’s surprise, both announce they are joining the police academy. Scott just got his acceptance letter to Wisconsin and Cosima gives him a high five, noting that they’ll only be a 4 hour ride from one another. Tony says that he is going to Hawaii Pacific University where he plans to spend as much time as possible on the beach getting lei’d. Oh, and also majoring in social work. Felix bemoans that he still has a couple years before he graduates, at which time he plans to head to New York to study art. Finally, the attention shifts to Delphine, who says she is still undecided. Cosima, noting her discomfort at the question, reaches over and rubs her knee.

Suddenly the lights go out and singing starts as Don and Nancy bring out the cake. Everybody joins in on a chorus of “Happy Birthday.”

“Make a wish!” Gram shouts.

Cosima looks at the cake, deep in thought, before shifting her gaze from the cake up to Delphine, staring at her for a few seconds before turning back to the cake and blowing out the candles to loud cheers and applause.

Slices are passed around the table. “This looks heavenly!” Delphine exclaims.

“It is, it’s my mom’s famous Triple Malt Chocolate Cake. She’s been baking it every year since my 3rd birthday.”

“You can bake this for me everyday if you want,” Helena says through a mouthful of cake.

“She doesn’t want to bake for you everyday, Meathead,” Sarah chastises.

“Do not call me this.”

Once they’ve all finished their cake, of which Helena’s had 4 slices, they retreat to the living room.

“Open your presents, Cosima,” Scott implores.

Helena and Scott both got her video games; Helena gifting her with the latest Assassin’s Creed, Scott with Dragon Age.  
Alison got her a gift certificate to Lululemon, as well as a rape whistle painted with a double helix design. Thinking along the same lines, Art got her a stun gun. “Wow, you guys are really worried about my personal safety,” Cosima comments.

Beth got her the most incredible pillow, noting how much Cosima loves to snooze.

Sarah’s gift is a silver periodic table ring featuring the element copernicium, with the symbol Cn. “For Cosima Niehaus,” Sarah notes.

“Sarah, I love it, thanks,” Cosima remarks as she slips it on amongst the rest of her rings.

Felix presents her with the painting he did of her in her lab coat. She points it towards Delphine, “See, what I tell ya, look at the size of my boobs, they’re huge.”

“You’re - uh, it’s beautiful. You are very talented, Felix,” Delphine remarks, captivated by the image.

“Thank you, Delphine. You’ll have to sit for me one day, I’d love to paint you.”

“Ok, one day,” she smiles.

Cosima reaches in Tony’s gift bag and pulls out a bikini. “Um, a bikini?”

“Yeah, you can wear it when you come visit me in Hawaii!” Tony exclaims.“And, now that I know you're headed to the frozen tundra, you're definitely gonna need an island vacay.”

Gram hands over her present and inside is a beautiful red, wool coat. Cosima tries it on, it fits like a glove. “This is beautiful, Gram. Hey, maybe I should wear this with just the bikini underneath and prance around in the snow. No one will be the wiser,” she jokes.

Delphine suddenly cannot get that mental image out of her head.

Cosima’s parents hand her an envelope. “Time for our present.”

“Hmm, it’s definitely not a car or even an extractor fan,” she jests.

“Cosima, just open it,” Nancy admonishes.

“Ok, ok,” she opens it and pulls out a gift certificate. “No way! You got me a gift certificate to Dream Masters?”

“What’s Dream Masters?” Alison wonders aloud.

“Only the raddest tattoo parlor in San Fran. Holy shit, do I have the coolest parents or what?”

“Well you’ve only been asking for a tattoo since you were 12, we figured with you turning 18 you were bound to get one sooner or later, so we might as well treat you to it,” Don responds.

“Are they open on Sunday? Cause I wanna go tomorrow. I cannot wait to get inked.”

“What are you thinking of getting, Cos?” Sarah asks.

“I have a whole sketch pad of ideas. I think I know which one I want and where, but you’ll all just have to wait and see. Oh man, thank you all for the rad gifts.”

“Wait, Cosima, you haven’t opened mine,” Delphine announces.

“You got me a gift, Delphine?” Cosima asks.

“Of course, it’s your birthday.” Delphine hands her a beautifully wrapped present.

“I almost don’t wanna open it, this wrap job is so nice. But who am I kidding?” Cosima says as she tears it open. “Whoa!” Cosima exclaims when she sees what’s inside. “Delphine, you got me The Origin of Species?”

“Yes, unfortunately, it’s a 6th edition not 1st like you said you were trying to get on eBay, 1sts are, well, thousands of dollars, but I found this copy at a rare book shop in town and I know red is your favorite color and it just seemed made for you.”

“I don’t care about the edition, this is amazing and so, so thoughtful. This is my favorite book of all time, I can’t believe you got it for me. How did you get it though?”

“Well Beth helped. I researched online and found a shop in town that had it, then contacted the store owner over email and he sent me some photos of the book. I immediately had him hold it for me and Beth drove me to get it yesterday after school.”

“You mean during your victory party?”

“There was never a victory party,” Delphine admits.

“Wait, that was a cover story? But you asked me to join, what if I had said yes?”

“Yeah, she didn’t think that through,” Beth chimes in.

“But how’d you pay for it? A book like this can’t come cheap. I hope you didn’t spend all your money on it,” Cosima asks concerned.

“Don’t worry about that, the owner gave me a great deal. I just wanted to get you something special,” Delphine smiles softly.

“This is the most special. Thank you so much.” Cosima hugs Delphine.

The hug lingers a little too long as the rest of the guests stare uncomfortably. Eventually Sarah clears her throat. “Ahem. So, Cos, the night is not over yet, we have plans.”

“Plans?” Cosima asks as she lets go of her grip on Delphine.

“Yeah, we reserved a couple lanes at Pins and Noodles. You ready to score tonight?” Alison asks.

“What?” Cosima asks.

“You know, ‘we’re gonna rock, we’re gonna roll, we’re gonna bop, we’re gonna bowl. We’re gonna score, score, score, score tonight?’ ”

Alison is met with blank stares. “Have none of you seen Grease 2? You all really need to watch more movie musicals. That reminds me, Delphine, has Cosima shown you Les Miz yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“It’s on my to do list, Ali, but it’s a very long list,” Cosima remarks.

“I doubt you’re to do list is that long, Cos,” Sarah snickers and gets an icy glare in return.

“Ok, so bowling. You down, Cosima?” Beth asks.

“Yeah, totes. Mom, Dad, Gram, you guys wanna come?”

“No, Cosima, us old folk will stay in, you kids go have fun,” Nancy responds.

The kids thank Cosima’s parents for a lovely night and head out.

“This, Delphine, is Pin and Noodles,” Cosima announces as she holds open the door to the establishment. “Half diner, half bowling alley. They’ve got all your normal diner food, plus every variety of noodles you can imagine or ever possibly want.”

The kids head to the alley and get shoes and balls, except for Alison who brought her own. They’re given lanes 8 and 9. Art, Beth, Felix, Helena, and Sarah on lane 8, Alison, Cosima, Delphine, Tony, and Scott on lane 9.

Delphine watches everyone as they take their turns, trying to gleam as much as she can on how the game works. Art and Beth are the most precise, Alison, Scott, and Tony are pretty decent, while Felix, Sarah, Helena, and Cosima are a bit more all over the place. When Delphine’s turn comes up, she stands, picks up her ball, takes her position, and releases the ball. It sails wildly into the wrong lane. Delphine turns around to find her friends all laughing. She pouts.

“It’s okay, Delphine, we’re idiots, don’t mind us, we’ve just never seen someone throw the ball into lane 12 from lane 9 before. Try again, that one didn’t count anyway,” Cosima encourages.

A little boy from lane 12 scurries over with the errant ball and hands it to Delphine. “Keep it in your lane, lady,” he admonishes.

“Cosima!” Delphine calls out. “Can you come here please?”

Cosima rushes over. “What’s up?”

“Can you show me?”

“Yeah, sure, but I’m not all that great, you want Beth or Art? They’re actually good.”

“No, I want you,” Delphine insists.

“Ok, well first of all, you need to put your fingers in the holes like this.” She demonstrates. “Then you’re gonna bring the ball up here, like just below neck level, and cup it with your left hand. Then bring your right arm back and then swing it forward and release. Go ahead, give it a try.”

“Delphine steps up, does as Cosima showed her, releases the ball and it goes right in the gutter.”

“It’s ok, Del, you get another shot,” Cosima announces, retrieving the ball and bringing it back over to her.

“Cosima, could you maybe help guide me while I do it?” Delphine sweetly asks.

“Oh, um, sure, sure.” Delphine gets into position and Cosima comes up flush behind her. She places her hands on top of each of Delphine’s and goes through the motions with her. The ball sails down the lane knocking over 5 pins.

“Look at you!” Cosima says excitedly, high fiving a smiling Delphine.

Their friends clap and Beth leans into Sarah’s ear. “What was that?”

“That was a masterclass in flirting,” Sarah smirks. “Who knew Frenchie had it in her?”

The game continues as both Cosima and Delphine secretly delight in checking each other out each time it’s the other’s turn. Delphine improves with each frame, eventually scoring a strike and jumping up and down excitedly before throwing herself in Cosima’s arms.

As the game winds down, Cosima and Delphine are chatting as Tony jokes around with Felix during their turns. Suddenly, someone comes up behind Cosima and wraps their hands over her eyes. Delphine looks up at this intruder, not sure what to make of what’s transpiring.

“Hey, birthday girl,” the voice chirps into Cosima’s ear.

“Bobby?” Cosima says, pulling the hands away and spinning around. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I’m in from college this weekend and my parents mentioned your friends had reserved lanes for your birthday, so thought I’d stop by and say hi. So, hi.”

“Hi,” Cosima replies and is pulled into a hug by Bobby. Cosima breaks the hug and turns to her friends. “So, uh, I think you know everyone, everyone Bobby.” They wave at her and she waves back.

“Not everyone,” Bobby says looking at Delphine, who has not torn her eyes away from the two girls.

“Right, right. Bobby this Delphine, Delphine this is Bobby.” They shake hands.

“Cosima, can we talk privately for a minute?” Bobby asks, pointing toward a booth in the back corner.

“Sure. Guys, I’ll be right back.” Cosima and Bobby head to the booth and Bobby sits down beside Cosima.

Delphine, curious about what just transpired, leans into Alison. “Alison, who is Bobby?”

“Oh, her parents own this place. I haven’t seen her since she left for college, but she and Cosima dated last summer.”

“Dated?” Delphine asks, shocked.

“Yeah, Cosima never mentioned her?”

“No, she didn’t.” Delphine continues to glance at the two girls in the booth, Bobby leaning in very close to Cosima, touching her hand. Delphine looks away and takes off her shoes, placing her own back on. “I’m feeling a bit warm, I’m just going to get some fresh air. Can you return my shoes.”

“Yeah, sure,” Alison replies.

After about 10 minutes, Cosima returns, alone, to her friends, who have started to pack up their stuff. She notices Delphine is gone. “Hey guys, where’s Delphine?”

“She just went to get some air,” Alison answers.

“Cos, everything ok?” Sarah asks, eyes indicating Bobby who’s still sitting at the booth.

“Yeah, all good,” Cosima nods.

“Alright, well we’re all ready to call it a night.”

“Ok.”

They put the balls back on the shelves and return their shoes before heading into the parking lot. They all hug Cosima, who thanks them for a great night. They wave in Delphine’s direction before piling into their cars and driving off.

Cosima walks over to where Delphine is standing.

“Delphine, are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine, just got hot in there.”

“Ok. Ready to go?”

“Yes.”

They get in Cosima’s car and head home. The house is quiet when they enter.

“Guess everyone’s asleep already,” Cosima notes.

“I’m very tired myself. I think I’m just gonna go to bed,” Delphine states.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. I’ll be right up.”

Delphine heads upstairs.

Cosima walks into the living room and looks over her gifts, which are strewn atop the coffee table. She laughs at the rape whistle, so very Alison. Finally, she picks up the book and starts thumbing through it, still massively moved that Delphine went out of her way to get it for her. After all, while it really is her favorite book, that eBay thing was just an offhanded cover story that afternoon, so the fact that it registered so much with Delphine is incredibly touching. As she flips through the pages, a note falls out.

Cosima picks it up off the floor, before silently reading.

_“Dear Cosima, I wanted to write a note inside the book, but didn’t want to devalue it, so I’m including this piece paper instead. Though we have only known each other for a short time, somehow it feels like a lifetime. You have been the most amazing friend to me; you’ve made me laugh, bolstered my confidence, and looked out for me as I began this strange new life. I was lost, had no idea where I fit in, but you made me feel like I belong somewhere and for that I will always be grateful. It’s hard to know what the future can possibly hold when you can’t even recall your past, but one thing I am certain of is that you will always be a huge part of my life and I hope you feel the same. Happy Birthday! Love, Delphine”_

As she finishes the letter and places it back in the book, Cosima feels her eyes watering and immediately rubs away the moisture. She gets up, shuts the lights, and heads up to her room. She walks in to find Delphine asleep. She grabs her pjs and goes to the bathroom to wash up and change. She re-enters the room, shuts the lights and gets into bed. She lays there for a while, unable to fall asleep, too many thoughts zooming around in her brain, mostly about the girl sleeping beside her. Finally, she quietly gets up and feels around for her bag, reaching in and pulling out the plastic baggie she got from Ramon along with a lighter. She opens the window and carefully crawls out onto the low roof. She lights up and begins to smoke.

Delphine, who hadn’t actually been sleeping, and felt Cosima come and go, worries when she doesn’t return after several minutes. She looks around the room and notices the open window. She tiptoes over and peeks her head out, seeing Cosima sprawled out, lit by just the moonlight, joint in hand. She contemplates getting back into bed before opting instead to join Cosima.

As Delphine steps through the window, the noise her foot makes as it hits the roof, alerts Cosima, who opens her eyes and looks over at her visitor.

“Delphine,” she whispers. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“No, I uh, I actually hadn’t fallen asleep yet.”

“Oh? Is something wrong?”

“Should I be asking you the same thing? I didn’t know you smoke.”

“Oh, yeah, but just pot for me. It helps calm my nerves. You want to try?” Cosima holds the joint out.

Delphine considers the offer. “Ok.” She takes it, then slides down next to Cosima, before taking a hit and promptly coughing.

“It takes a little getting used to.” Cosima says with a pat to her back.

They pass it back and forth, Delphine carefully observing Cosima and then mimicking her actions, eventually getting the hang of it.

“So, why couldn’t you sleep?” Cosima finally asks.

“Oh, I don’t know, a lot on my mind I guess. You?”

“Same.”

“Cosima, can I ask you something personal?”

“Sure,” Cosima replies, stubbing out the joint.

“That girl, Bobby, from the bowling alley, you and she dated?”

“Oh, uh, yeah, last summer, just for a little while. When she was leaving to go to the east coast for college, we ended things. It didn’t feel right for either of us had to be pinned down. Long-distance never works.”

“Cosima, why didn’t you mention that you were…”

“Into girls?” Cosima finishes the thought and Delphine nods. “I don’t know, I mean it’s not a secret, everyone knows: my friends, my parents, Gram, but I just, I didn’t know how you’d react. I guess I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or whatever.”

“Uncomfortable?”

“Yeah, like we were gonna be alone all week and I didn’t know if you’d be freaked out by living with a lesbian.”

Delphine laughs. “Freaked out?”

“Yeah, like, ‘ooh better lock my bedroom door so she doesn’t try to jump my bones.’ ”

Delphine giggles lightly at that expression, before turning serious. “Cosima, I would never think that. And I don’t want you to think you can’t share everything about yourself with me. Ok?”

“Ok.”

“So, um, about Bobby, it looked like you two were having a pretty serious discussion.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I ask what it was about?”

“Well, she wanted to get back together, said she missed me.”

“Oh. So are you back together now?”

“No.”

“I see,” Delphine nods before pausing and looking back at Cosima. “Wait, did you say no?”

“Yeah. I mean no. I mean yeah I said no. I told her that while she’s a great girl and I had fun last summer, I wasn’t interested in rekindling the relationship.”

“Why not?”

Cosima doesn’t respond.

“Cosima?”

Cosima takes a deep breath before answering. “Cause I’m kinda crazy head over heels for someone else.”

“Oh, really?” Delphine swallows before continuing. “Anyone I know?”

“Uh, yeah, actually, someone you know pretty well.”

“Who?”

“Um…” Cosima stalls.

“Cosima, didn’t I just say you can tell me anything? Who are you crazy about?”

“Ok, well, for starters, she’s tall, blonde-”

“It’s not Aynsley, is it?”

“Hell no!” Cosima yelps.

“Ok, go on.”

“She’s incredibly smart, whether it’s science, math, English, law, you name it, she’s great at it. She’s also the most gorgeous girl I have ever laid eyes on and she’s got the cutest little freckle right on the tip of her nose.”

Delphine’s breath hitches as the realization sinks in. Cosima’s eyes staring intently into her own. She looks down at Cosima’s lips, lips mere inches from her own, then back into Cosima’s eyes. Suddenly, Delphine surges forward, crashing her lips into Cosima’s. Cosima’s brow raises in surprise, mouth initially unmoving. When she realizes what’s happening, however, she responds in kind, kissing Delphine back, clutching the back of her head and pulling her in even closer. Delphine moans into the kiss and Cosima snaps out of her stupor, pulling away. Delphine’s eyes remain closed, lips pursed, until the realization that Cosima isn’t kissing her anymore sinks in and she opens her eyes.

“Delphine, what are you doing?”

“I - I thought I was kissing you, did I do it wrong?”

“No, you definitely did it right, so very right. I mean why did you kiss me?”

“Because I wanted to and I assumed you wanted me to.”

“Yeah, totally, I want, I definitely want, but do you- do you like girls, Delphine?”

“No,” Delphine states matter of factly and Cosima’s eyes immediately turn downward. “I like a girl. Singular. One adorably, cheeky girl.”

Cosima looks back up at Delphine, whose eyes are looking into hers with a tenderness she’s never seen anyone look at her with before.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. Cosima,” she grabs the other girl’s hands, “I like you, I really, really like you. All I’ve wanted this whole week was to grab you and kiss you like that, but I was scared and I didn’t know if you felt the same. I mean there were moments when I thought maybe you were flirting with me, but then I brushed those thoughts aside cause I wasn’t sure if it was just my mind playing tricks on me.”

“No, your mind definitely wasn’t playing tricks,” Cosima smiles. “Wait, all week? When did you start liking me?”

“I know I’ve felt a connection from the start, but it wasn’t until I started rehearsing for the musical that it hit me that what I was feeling was so much more than just friendship or gratitude.”

“How so?”

“Well, I started singing and the director stopped me, he said that I needed to really feel what I was singing, needed to make it personal. So I started over and the words I was singing, they were about falling for someone really quickly and the strange feeling inside that accompanies that. And it hit me, it hit me hard. I realized that’s how I feel about you.” A tear escapes Delphine’s eye and, suddenly hyper-conscious of her admission, she glances down.

Cosima reaches her hand out and cups Delphine’s face, wiping the tear away with her thumb before using it to trace her lips. Delphine glances back up and Cosima leans in and kisses Delphine tenderly. Breaking apart, she rests her forehead on Delphine’s.

“Cosima?”

“Hmm?”

“When did it happen for you? Liking me, I mean.”

“From the moment I opened the door, I knew. Seeing your face, I just knew. And not just because you’re gorgeous, though that didn’t hurt, it was just like something seized control of my heart at that moment. And then when you spoke and you were so sweet and funny, that was it, I was completely smitten. Oh, and when you kissed me goodnight, that French cheek thing, I nearly went into cardiac arrest.”

Delphine chuckles.

“For real. I didn’t think I was doing a good job of hiding my feelings. I mean Sarah called me out on it right away. I started to get irrationally jealous of Beth and Scott, just cause you were paying attention to them. And it was stupid and I felt like an idiot, I mean you’re not mine, you can talk or flirt with whoever you want, even though I wanted to be the only one, you know?”

“Oui, that’s how I felt tonight, when you were with Bobby and she was sitting so close to you, touching you. Alison told me you and Bobby had dated and I kind of wanted to smash her over the head with a bowling ball, anything to get her away from you.”

“Oh god, Delphine, what is with you and maiming people with balls?” Cosima cringe laughs.

“Ugh, I don’t know,” Delphine shakes her head. “What I do know is that in that moment when you were talking with her, I thought you were getting back together, that I had missed my chance to tell you how I feel.”

“Hey, do you know how many times Sarah said I should be honest with you about my feelings and I was just too much of a wuss? Wait, you said you felt it at your first rehearsal, is that why you were suddenly less than convincing with Scott the next day?”

“Yes, I just couldn’t pretend to feel something for him when all I wanted was you.”

“That’s good to know, cause I was seriously worried about the success of the musical if your acting ability was that poor.”

Delphine chuckles. “So where do we go from here?”

“It’s like 3am, so I say we go to bed and then pick up this discussion in the morning, but I hope this means that we’re a thing.”

“A thing?”

“Yeah, a couple, dating and whatnot. Definitely more kissing, like lots and lots of kissing.”

“Cosima?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

A gigantic smile spreads across Cosima’s face. “I thought you’d never ask.” Cosima leans in for another kiss, before proclaiming, “Best. Birthday. Ever!”

“It’s not your birthday anymore,” Delphine reminds.

“Well then it’s the best day after birthday ever,” Cosima smiles and Delphine blushes.

Cosima helps Delphine step through the window. They get back into bed on their respective sides. Cosima looks at the space between them, unhappy with the distance, before she scoots over until she’s pressed up against Delphine, her front to Delphine’s back. She wraps her arm over Delphine’s body, grabbing her hand and entwining their fingers.

They stay like that for a while until Delphine breaks the silence. “Cosima, why are we laying like this?”

“I don’t know, it’s sorta the thing people do, big spoon, little spoon. Though I guess technically I should be the little spoon. You wanna change positions?”

“No. I don’t want to spoon at all,” Delphine asserts.

“Delphine, don’t tell me you wanna fork, I’m not that easy.” Cosima giggles at her own joke.

“Cosima!” Delphine reprimands.

“Sorry, sorry, you want me to move over? Are you not into the whole cuddling thing?”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I just, well, when I wake up tomorrow, I want your face to be the first thing I see, not your back or that wall. So can we just -” She repositions so that she’s on her side facing Cosima. She wraps her right arm around Cosima and pulls her close, their chests flush, their faces just inches apart. “There, much better.”

“Yeah, much.” Cosima agrees as she closes the gap between their lips.

Delphine eagerly responds to the kiss and they remain like that for quite some time before Cosima drifts off to sleep. Delphine smiles at the reason for the sudden loss of contact and the light snoring coming from Cosima, before falling into her own peaceful slumber.


	16. No Pain, No Gain

Cosima opens her eyes to find another pair staring back at her. “Hey,” Cosima yawns, “how long have you been awake?”

“A while,” Delphine admits.

“Whatcha doing?”

“Looking at you. I told you I wanted to wake up to your face and I did.” Delphine leans in and kisses Cosima.

“So, no regrets? This wasn’t just some pot-fueled mistake?” Cosima asks when they break apart.

“Are you kidding? If anything that pot may have been what finally gave me the courage to act on my feelings. My only regret is taking so long to get to this point.” 

Cosima grins widely and starts to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” 

“Nothing.”

“Cosima, tell me,” Delphine insists, poking her in the side.

“Ok, ok. I was just thinking how awesome it is that I have this smokin’ hot French chick in my bed.”

Delphine rolls her eyes. “You are such a brat.”

“Yes, but I’m your brat.” Cosima grins and starts kissing Delphine again. Their kisses grow more heated and when Delphine parts her lips, Cosima takes the opportunity to slip her tongue in between, momentarily surprising Delphine, before she realizes what’s happening, likes it, and mimics the action.

They eventually break apart. 

“Oh man!” Cosima shouts.

“That good?”

“No, I mean yes, good, very good, but I just remembered I’m getting a tattoo today.”

Delphine laughs. “Yes, you are. I know you wanted it to be a surprise, but can’t you at least show me the tattoo design?” Delphine looks at her with those puppy dog eyes.

“How can I say no with you looking at me like that?” Cosima jumps up, grabs her notepad off her desk and gets back into bed. She flips through pages of doodles before finally stopping on one. “This one.”

Delphine studies the image. “That is lovely. You drew that?”

“Yeah. It’s a nautilus shell. I want to get it done here.” She points to the inside of her right wrist.

“Can I ask why you chose that design for your tattoo?”

“Sure, well this spiral is the golden ratio, it’s a mathematical pattern that just repeats itself in nature, in flower petals and honey bees, in the stars in the galaxy and in every molecule of our DNA. I don’t know, there’s just something so fascinating about it, to me anyway, I know, it’s dorky.”

“No, not dorky at all. I think it’s beautiful, really. I understand, I mean from a biological perspective, it’s quite intriguing.”

“Yes, thank you,” Cosima grins. “Do you know how awesome it is to finally meet someone who gets it, gets me?”

“I do,” Delphine punctuates with a kiss. “I also get that you wake up way too late and now it’s almost noon.”

“Hey, you contributed to keeping me up late last night,” Cosima protests. “Besides it was my birthday, I can sleep in late if I want to.”

“Ok, but your parents are probably wondering why I’m not down there yet. I’d normally have had a pot of coffee going hours ago.” 

“You’re not Ms. Coffee, you don’t have to make it every morning, especially when you’re snuggled up to me. If you need to, just say you couldn’t tear your lips away from their daughter’s,” Cosima smirks.

Delphine playfully hits her with a pillow. “Stop, really, what should I say?”

“Um, how about that you actually spent a Sunday morning in bed, tired from a late night out? Do you really care what my parents think?” 

“Of course I do. I want them to like me, especially now.”

“You’re too cute,” Cosima smiles. “They like you, trust me, and you waking up late on a Sunday isn’t going to phase them.”

“Fine, but you come down, too. You can say that we had a late night and slept in.”

“Ok, come on,” Cosima gets up, puts on her slippers and robe and heads downstairs, Delphine following behind.

They enter the living room where Cosima’s parents and grandma are seated watching tv.

“Hello, girls, how was last night?” Nancy asks.

“Last night?” Delphine nervously asks.

“Yeah, bowling?” Nancy reminds

“Oh, yes, bowling. It was a lot of fun,” Delphine says.

“Yeah, I taught Delphine how to bowl, she had never done it before,” Cosima offers.

“You taught her?” Don asks, surprised. “You can barely bowl yourself.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad,” Cosima protests.

“She was a very good instructor,” Delphine swears.

“See?”

“Ok, well why don’t you two bowling masters go help yourself to breakfast or lunch or whatever you’d normally have at this time of day,” Don laughs.

The girls scamper into the kitchen.

Gram turns to Nancy and Don. “Does it seem to either of you that bowling was all that went on last night?”

“From the looks on both their faces, I’d say not a chance,” Nancy responds and Don nods in agreement. 

“See, that went well,” Cosima says as she and Delphine help themselves to some cereal and sit down at the table.

“You were right, I was being silly,” Delphine agrees and they both start eating. 

When they finish, they make their way back into the living room.

“So, Cosima, when do you want to head to Dream Masters?” Don asks.

“Soon, actually, but, uh, you know I love you guys and I totes appreciate that you were so cool to get me a tattoo as a birthday present, but I’m 18 now and being accompanied by my parents to get tatted is, well, kinda lame. So do you mind if just Delphine and I go?”

“Oh, yeah, I totes get it. No prob, kiddo. Oh, wait, should I stop calling you kiddo, maybe adulto is more appropriate,” Don jokes.

“Very funny, Dad. Kiddo is fine. In private,” she smirks. “Thanks for understanding. So we’ll just go get ready then.” Cosima leads Delphine back upstairs. 

When they've showered and dressed, Cosima suggests taking the BART so she doesn’t have to drive if her arm is sore later. Delphine is more than happy to take public transportation. 

They arrive in Chinatown and walk towards the tattoo parlor.

“So they use needles, right? Are you nervous?” Delphine asks.

“Nah, I can handle it. I’ve seen this done so many times on TV, it looks easy peasy.”

They enter the shop and are greeted by a dude that looks like The Rock, if every square inch of The Rock below his chin was covered in tattoos.

“Hello Ladies, I’m Cane, how can I be of service today? Wait, you wouldn’t happen to be Cosima Niehaus, would you?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?” 

“Your dad was in the other day, he told me how long you’ve been bugging him and your mom for a tattoo.”

“I wouldn’t say bugging, more like fervently requesting.”

“Well he described you to a T: dreads, glasses, short.”

“Hey, I’m not that short.”

“He failed to mention how cute you are.” 

“Thanks.” Cosima smiles and blushes.

“Yes, she is,” Delphine says through gritted teeth as she steps forward and grabs Cosima’a hand, entwining their fingers. 

“So, Cane,” Cosima says, while surveying the parlor for basketballs, bowling balls, or any other large round objects that she may need to keep Delphine away from, “this is the sketch for the tattoo I want.” She shows him the nautilus. 

“Cool. That shouldn’t be a problem. Where do you want it?”

“Right here.” She flips her arm around and points to her wrist.

“Nice. Before we begin, I’ll just need to see your I.D. and the gift certificate.”

She hands them over. 

Satisfied, he points to the chair. “Alright birthday girl, have a seat and let’s get you prepped and inked.”

Cosima sits down while Cane takes her image and makes a stencil of it. Then he cleans the area, transfers the stencil ink to her wrist, puts some ointment on it, and finally picks up the tattoo machine and moves in to start on the first line. 

“Wait!” Cosima yells.

Cane stops before touching her wrist and looks at her expectantly.

Cosima looks at the tattoo machine in his hand, then glances over to Delphine, who’s seated across the room on a black leather couch. 

“Delphine!” Cosima calls out. 

Delphine jumps up and hurries over. “Is something wrong ma chérie?”

“Um, well, could you hold my hand?” Cosima sheepishly asks.

A bright smile appears on Delphine’s face. “Of course.”

Delphine pulls over a stool and sits down next to Cosima, grabbing Cosima’s left hand and holding it tightly between both of hers.

“Thank you,” Cosima says, her expression like that of a child afraid of getting shots at the doctor’s office. “Ok, I’m ready now.”

Cane starts on the first line and Cosima winces. 

“Oh, pauvre petit chiot,” Delphine smirks.

“You’re the puppy!” Cosima responds with a toothy grin.

Delphine kisses the side of Cosima’s head and Cane continues. The pain gradually lessons throughout the procedure. Finally he finishes the design and cleans the area up.

“Dude, that looks awesome!” Cosima exclaims. 

“Oui, je suis d’accord.” 

“That means she likes it, too,” Cosima clarifies when Cane stares blankly at Delphine.

Next Cane applies ointment and covers the tattoo. “Ok, you should keep the covering on for 24 hours. Here is the aftercare instruction sheet. If you have any problem, please give me a call.”

“Thanks.” 

“Anytime. Hey, since it’s your birthday, how about I throw in something extra.”

“Really? Like what?” Cosima asks.

“How about a piercing?” He offers.

“Hmm, I don’t know. You saw how well I dealt with that pain, I don’t know if I wanna get a piercing on top of it.”

“Come on, you’ve got your girl here to hold your hand, plus a piercing is a lot quicker, minimal pain.”

“Del, what do you think? I don’t even know what I’d want to get pierced.”

“Your nose!” Delphine quickly responds.

“Um, that was decisive,” Cosima says, surprised at Delphine’s quick response.

“I think you’d look cute with a little nose stud,” Delphine shyly replies.

Cosima stares at her for a moment, then admits, “I actually used to draw a little dot here on my nose and pretend I had my nose pierced when I was younger. Ok,” she decides, “nose it is.”

Cane lets the girls pick out a small stud.

“Would you like to do the honors, draw your own dot?” Cane asks, handing her the pen.

“Sure.” She takes the pen, looks in the mirror and draws the dot right where she used to place it when she was a little girl. She then sits back down and clutches Delphine’s hands. 

The piercing is over and done in roughly 30 seconds. Just one little tear falls from the corner of her eye at the moment of impact which Delphine quickly wipes away.

“That wasn’t too bad,” Cosima admits. She gets up to look in the mirror. “Cool, I like!”

“Me too!” Delphine agrees.

Cosima thanks Cane and she and Delphine leave the parlor.

As they’re walking, Cosima leans in close to Delphine. “I didn’t know you had a nose fetish.”

“I do not have a fetish, if either of us has the nose fetish, it’s you. You’re the one who said how cute the freckle on my nose is.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t like ‘oh it’s so cute put a ring in it.’ ”

“But you like it, right? You weren’t just saying that. I didn’t pressure you or anything?”

“No, chill, I’m just teasing, I really do like it. Dude, I’m like hella punk rock now. Between my dreads, my tat, and my piercing, I don’t know why everyone thinks Sarah is such a punk just cause she wears a lot of leather. She’s got none of this,” Cosima emphasizes with her hands.

“No, she’s definitely got none of that. So what was that again about the tattoo process being easy peasy?”

“Yeah, I might have overestimated my bravery. Luckily, I had my strong, sweet, sexy girlfriend to keep me calm.”

“Sexy? Really?” Delphine laughs. “Is that a necessary trait for the one holding your hand while ink is inserted into your skin with a sharp object?”

“No, but it’s a fine distraction,” Cosima concludes her statement with a kiss. “Delphine, back there in the shop, did you call me chérie?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I did,” Delphine admits.

“I like it,” Cosima grins.

Cosima and Delphine hold hands as they walk the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown, checking out the cute shops. 

“This is nice!” Delphine announces.

“What’s nice?” Cosima asks, looking around.

“Holding hands, being together. I’m excited to finally be able to do this at school tomorrow.”

“Mmmm,” Cosima agrees, before bringing their stride to an abrupt halt. “Wait, we can’t.”

“What? Why not?” Delphine asks worriedly. 

“Cause you’re already dating someone else,” Cosima reminds.

“Oh my goodness. Scott!” Delphine suddenly remembers. 

“Yeah, your ‘boyfriend’ Scott. You don’t want to look like a trollop by dating two geeks at once,” Cosima teases.

“No, I certainly wouldn’t want that.”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to keep pretending with him during the day and then at night you’re all mine.”

“I don’t think I can keep my hands off you that long. I could barely pretend with Scott when I only wanted to kiss you, but now that I can kiss you, I’m going to be miserable if I can’t. Besides, I don’t want to hide what we have. I’m just going to have to break it off with Scott, tell him I can’t keep up our charade anymore.”

“No, you can’t do that.”

“Why? Don’t you want the same.”

“Of course I do, more than anything, but you started that whole thing to help Scott’s image, how’s it gonna look if you dump him after a little more than a week of dating?”

“Well, we can say he broke up with me.”

“That won’t fly. The only way they’ll believe that he broke up with you is if they witness it.”

“I can see those wheels spinning from here, Cosima. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking we need to have a talk with Scott. I’ll text him, have him meet us back home. We’ve got a plan to enact.”

When the girls get home, they're eagerly greeted by the parents.

“So, how’d it go?” Nancy asks.

“It went great. Gotta keep it covered up for 24 hours, then we’ll have the big reveal.”

“Delphine, how was our girl here during the procedure?” Don asks.

“She was very brave.” Delphine says, casting a knowing smile in Cosima’s direction. 

“Um, Cosima, is there something else you want to tell us about today?” Nancy asks.

“Wha- what do you mean?” Cosima responds nervously.

“Your nose.” Nancy points towards the stud.

“Oh, yeah, my nose,” Cosima answers as she brings her hand up to touch it. “Cane, the tattoo artist, threw in a piercing. You’re not mad are you? If you are, it was totally Delphine’s idea.” 

“Hey,” Delphine protests, giving Cosima a light swat to her shoulder. 

“No, not mad at all, it looks good on you,” Nancy declares.

“I agree. Hey, maybe I should get a piercing,” Don announces.

“No!” Cosima, Nancy, and Gram shout in unison.

“We’re gonna go upstairs for a while. Scott is coming over to work with us on a project, can you send him up when he gets here?” Cosima asks.

“Sure,” Nancy responds.

The girls go up to Cosima’s room. 

“Nice of you to blame me for your nose ring.” Delphine mock pouts once they’re behind closed doors.

“Hey, I knew they wouldn’t get mad at you. All you’d have to do is flash them those big doe eyes and they’d be putty in your hands. Just like I am.”

“Oh yeah?” Delphine says, moving in closer.

“Yeah,” Cosima replies as Delphine cups her cheeks and starts kissing her. 

Suddenly, there’s a knock on her bedroom door. “Cosima, it’s Scott, can I come in?”

“Yeah, yeah, come in,” Cosima shouts as she breaks away from Delphine.

“Hey, Delphine. So, what’s up, Cosima? Your text was pretty vague.”

“Scott, please have a seat.” Cosima motions towards the desk chair while she and Delphine sit on the bed. “There’s something that we need to talk to you about.”

“Wait, Cosima, your arm.” He notices the wrap.

“Oh, yeah, I got the tattoo today. And this nose ring.” She points out.

“Awesome. I can’t wait to see your tat.”

“At this rate I should probably just invite everyone over for a showing.”

“You probably should. Ok, so why am I here?”

“It’s about you and Delphine and the whole fake dating thing,” Cosima starts, before Delphine continues.

“Scott, I know it was my idea and you kinda just got dragged into it, but I hope you know how sincere I was about helping you and I’m really sorry, but I can’t continue playing your girlfriend anymore.” 

“Uh huh,” Scott responds nodding his head. “I understand.”

“You do?” Delphine asks. 

“Well, yeah, I mean, I’m assuming that’s your lipstick on Cosima’s face,” He laughs.

Delphine’s eyes go wide as she turns to look at Cosima, who erupts into hysterical laughter.

“Yes, Scotty, yes it is,” Cosima proudly replies, while Delphine moves to rub the lipstick off of her.

“Nice. I’m happy for you both.”

“You’re not mad?” Delphine asks seriously.

“Not at all. So we’re broken up?” 

“Not yet,” Cosima remarks.

“Huh?”

“Well, I think in order to have this fake relationship actually prove beneficial to you, she can’t break up with you, you have to break up with her, at school, in front of the entire student body.”

“Whoa. In what universe would I break up with Delphine?” He wonders.

“In this universe, where Scott Smith is a stud. You gotta play this like she’s not good enough for you and you’ve got other options. And she has to play it like losing you is devastating. I mean come on, if she sells it that she’s wrecked over you, every other girl is gonna wonder what they’re missing out on.”

“But how wrecked will they think she is if she’s dating you not ten seconds later?”

“He has a point, Cosima.” 

“Look, they know Delphine and I are friends and that she’s living here, right? So it’ll just look like I’m consoling her at first, then like I’m her rebound, and then ours will just happen to be the one rebound relationship that lasts.” Cosima smiles at Delphine as she finishes.

“I guess that might work,” Scott shrugs.

“Might? Come on Scotty, it will work. I think we should do it tomorrow at lunch. Maybe start a little scene when you guys walk in the cafeteria that grows more and more heated. Just pretend it’s like you’re in a really intense Rune Wars battle.”

“Ok, I’ll do my best. Well I better get back home for dinner. It was nice dating you, Delphine, sorry I gotta break your heart,” he laughs.

Delphine clutches her heart in mock pain.

“I’ll walk you out.” Cosima follows Scott downstairs and onto the porch and closes the door behind them.

“Cosima, holy shit! You and Delphine? What? How? When?” 

“Dude, calm down.” She whispers. “Yeah, it happened last night a little while after we got home. I don’t know, man, I just finally admitted my feelings and then she kissed me. And of course I was shocked, but she said she feels the same way I do and that was that.”

“And you’ve been making out ever since?” Scott chuckles.

“I wouldn’t say ever since, but a decent amount,” she grins.

“That’s incredible.”

“Yeah, but I don't know man, I’m scared.”

“Of what?

“Of the whole situation. I really, really want to be honest with her, but now I have so much more to lose if I am. I mean it hasn’t even been a whole day yet that we’ve been a couple, but it just feels so natural, so right. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted and yet I feel like there’s this black cloud hanging over us that could explode at any second.”

“Cosima, stop, just live in the moment. You know, when I walked into that room, you looked happier than I’ve ever seen you, and Delphine, well Delphine looked pretty freakin’ smitten. She definitely never looked like that when she and I were dating,” he giggles. “If you feel you have to tell her the truth, then tell her, but I would hate to see you lose all this joy.” 

“Ugh. Why does life have to be so damn difficult?”

“Yeah, why must hot dolls come to life and start kissing you?”

“Shut up. Go home, Scotty, you’ve got a breakup scene to study for.” Cosima pushes him towards the street and goes back up to her room.

“So, you really think we’ll be able to pull this off?” Delphine asks.

“Yeah, you got this.”

“So, you’re my rebound, huh.”

“Looks like.” 

“And what makes you think I’m not gonna lose interest once I get over being dumped by Scott?”

“I don’t know, I guess I’ll just have to make sure your interest is constantly piqued.” Cosima reaches her arms around the back of Delphine’s neck, bracing herself as she steps onto her tippy toes and plants a kiss on Delphine’s lips. She pulls away after just a few seconds and let’s go of her grip on Delphine. Delphine opens her eyes and looks at Cosima. “So is your interest piqued?” 

Delphine doesn’t answer with words, but actions, as she surges forward, grabbing Cosima and continuing what the other girl started. Soon they fall onto the bed, never breaking contact.

A few minutes later, there’s a knock at the door. “Girls, dinner’s ready.” 

Delphine pulls her lips away from Cosima’s, earning a groan in the process. She silently indicates for Cosima to answer.

“Ok, Dad, we’ll be down in a bit.” She waits till he’s safely away from the door. “I really need my own place. Alright, let’s go eat.”

“Wait!” Delphine yells.

“What’s wrong?”

“Lipstick.” Delphine grabs a tissue and cleans Cosima up. 

“Maybe you should skip wearing lipstick from now on, yours is all smudged on you, too.”

Delphine looks in the mirror and wipes the remaining color off her lips before they join the family in the dining room.

Cosima’s eyes brighten as she sees and smells the meal. “Gram, you made Chicken Fricassee? This is like a weekend full of all my favorite food.”

“You only turn 18 once, might as well make it special,” Gram says.

“It has been very special.” Cosima declares, as she plays footsie with Delphine under the table. “Do you really have to go back to Florida tomorrow?”

“Yes, I need to get back to the clinic.”

“Clinic?” Delphine asks.

“Gram started a free clinic about five years ago in Miami.” 

“Yeah, I was fortunate enough to get area doctors and other retired doctors to volunteer their time. Miami has a huge immigrant population with little access to affordable health care, so we try to help where we can.”

“Oh wow, that is incredible, and such a selfless way to spend your retirement.”

“Medicine is my life, it’s in my blood. I had to give up the day to day hospital grind, but that didn’t mean I still couldn’t contribute in some way.”

“I’m actually doing a term paper on the Psychological Impact of Immigration. Would you mind terribly if I picked your brain on the topic?”

“Not at all, I’ll give you my number, call me anytime.”

“Thank you.”

“I will definitely be back for your graduation. I wouldn’t want to miss your speech.

“Speech?” Delphine asks.

“Our girl here is going to be valedictorian,” Don says proudly.

“Wow, Cosima, that’s amazing.”

“It’s not a sure thing, I still have to get through this semester.” 

“Don’t be modest. Cosima has been at the top of her class all through high school.” Nancy brags.

“We’ll see, we’ll see,” Cosima says modestly. “I’ll be happy you’ll be there though, Gram, regardless.”

“I wouldn’t miss your graduation for the world. But we still have tonight, so what do you say we have a Niehaus family game night?”

“I’m down for that,” Cosima says and her parents agree. “Delphine, you in?”

“Um, I don’t know, is this a family only thing?”

“Don’t be silly, Delphine,” Gram says, taking Delphine’s hand. “Besides, you’re part of the family now.” 

Delphine smiles. “Thank you.”

When they finish dinner, Cosima giddily pulls Delphine into the living room. 

Don brings out the Monopoly board. “Cosima, do you want to maybe take your presents off the coffee table so I can set this up?”

“Sorry, sorry.” She swoops up her gifts and moves them to a side table. 

“I meant put them up in your room.” He shakes his head as he sets up the game.

“I’ll bring ‘em up later,” Cosima promises. “Ok, Delphine, which piece do you want to be?”

Delphine looks them over before selecting the Scottie dog.

“Yes!” Cosima enthuses. “Delphine’s the puppy! Ok, I’m the car, cause I’m such an excellent driver.”

There is a collective eye roll around the table. 

Nancy chooses the shoe, Don takes the top hat, and Gram selects the thimble. Gram is also chosen to be the banker and she distributes money to everyone. 

“So how does this work?” Delphine asks Cosima. 

“Well, basically, you want to become the richest player and you do that by buying up property and building on them so you can charge rent when people land on them. It looks more daunting than it actually is.”

They decide to play oldest to youngest so Delphine can observe the action before her turn. They all start out well, buying up some of the cheaper properties. On Delphine’s first roll she lands on Reading Railroad and she excitedly purchases it. The game proceeds with everyone gaining property, losing money, and making money. Eventually, Delphine lands on the Go To Jail space and she pouts as she places her token in jail.

“Aww, Delphine, don’t be sad, I’ll bake a file into a cake for you.” Cosima winks.

On her next turn, Delphine has to decide whether to pay a fine or roll the dice to get out of jail. She looks over at Cosima, who’s in possession of a get out of jail free card.

“What are you looking at?” Cosima cracks.

“Don’t you want to help me get out of jail?” Delphine asks, pointing towards the card.

“What’s in it for me?” Cosima asks.

Delphine just smiles at her.

“Fine, fine, because I’m such a benevolent person, I will give you my card.”

“Thank you,” Delphine replies giddily, handing it over to Gram, and earning her release. She then promptly rolls doubles and Cosima groans.

On Cosima’s next turn she has to pull a chance card. “Are you kidding me?” She shouts. “Go directly to jail.” 

Everyone laughs, including Delphine.

“What are you laughing at, Delphine? You owe me, you better bail me out.”

“How about I visit you instead?” Delphine asks, as her next roll places her on the outside of Cosima’s cell. “You look good in stripes, Cosima.”

When Cosima’s next turn comes, she fully expects Delphine to give her 50 bucks for bail, instead she’s met with a blank stare. “Are you kidding me? You’re really not gonna help me out here?”

“Nope.”

Cosima takes a chance and rolls the dice, landing a 3 and remaining in jail. After one more failed attempt to roll doubles, she begrudgingly pays her own way out. Don is eventually the first to go bankrupt, followed by Cosima.

When all is said and done, Delphine emerges victorious. She smiles widely as everyone congratulates her, except for Cosima. 

“You’re a shark, Delphine. You know that?” Cosima snarls.

“You gotta do what you gotta do,” Delphine smirks. 

It’s getting pretty late, so they clean up before heading up to bed. 

“Um, Cosima, are you forgetting something?” Don points towards the pile of gifts. 

“Oh, yeah, my bad.” She scoops them up and carries them to her room, dumping them on her desk. 

“Cosima?” Delphine says, once they’re in the room.

Cosima refuses to acknowledge her.

“Are you seriously going to ignore me over a silly game?” Delphine asks, incredulously.

“Silly?” Cosima turns and looks at Delphine. “There is nothing silly about Monopoly and you don’t play fair. I don’t give my get out of jail free card to just anyone and not expect a little quid pro quo.”

“I never said there was nothing in it for you, did I?” Delphine asks as she moves in closer to Cosima.

“What did you have in mind?” Cosima gulps.

Delphine leans down and kisses Cosima’s neck. “This.” Then her ear. “This.” Then her cheek. “This.” Then her lips. At which point Cosima enthusiastically responds, kissing her back.

After several minutes, Delphine pulls away. “Still mad?”

“I was never mad, I was just messing with you.” Delphine shakes her head at her cheeky girlfriend. “I can respect serious game play. So how does it feel to have won your very first family game night?”

“It feels great, but it feels even better to be considered part of a family, part of your family. Your parents have been so great and your grandma is endlessly fascinating.”

“I told you they like you, maybe not as much as I like you, but, still, they like you a lot. And yeah, my folks are great and Gram is amazing, but can we please stop talking about them for the rest of the night?”

“What do you want to talk about?” Delphine asks.

“Right now? Nothing. Nothing at all.” Cosima grabs Delphine around the waist pulling her close and nipping at her lips.

“You are incorrigible,” Delphine chuckles.

“Hey, you started it,” Cosima protests.

“Oui, c’est vrai,” Delphine admits as she resumes kissing Cosima.


	17. Breaking Up Isn’t Hard To Do

The blaring of “The Elements” from her alarm wakes Cosima out of a deep sleep. It takes her until barium to reach for the alarm, with her eyes still closed, and shut it off. She then turns back around and gropes around for Delphine. When she finds no other body in her bed, she finally opens her eyes. Instead of a heap of blonde curls splayed out on the pillow, there’s a note. Cosima grabs her glasses, then sits up to read the letter

_Bonjour Ma Chérie,_  
_Sorry for setting your alarm to wake you up so early, but your grandmother is leaving for the airport soon and I knew you wouldn’t want to miss saying goodbye. So go directly downstairs, do not pass out again, do not collect any more z’s. See you at school._  
_xoxo,_  
_Delphine_

Cosima smiles at how ridiculously adorable Delphine is before she gets up to go downstairs.

“Hey Gram,” Cosima greets as soon as she enters the living room.

“Cosima, I didn’t expect you up so early.”

“What kind of granddaughter would I be if I didn’t say goodbye to my grandmother?” Gram gives Cosima a skeptical look. “Ok, Delphine may have set my alarm for me. But I totally wanted to see you before you left. Where’s mom and dad?”

“Your dad is taking my bags out to the car, your mom just left for a dentist appointment.”

“Gram, I’m so glad you came this weekend. It really made my birthday extra special.”

“That’s not all that made it so special is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean Delphine.”

“Well, yeah, she’s become a real good friend.”

“Friend? Cosima are you really going to deny that there’s something going on between you two? I spoke to Delphine this morning-”

“You spoke to Delphine about it?” Cosima interrupts.

“Not about ‘it’ specifically, but we spoke about you and she didn’t stop smiling for a second. Now, I have a lot of close friends, but I don’t typically grin from ear to ear when talking about mundane things like their breakfast habits.”

“What did she say about me?”

“She said you taught her how to make Rice Krispies sing, that you took her clothing shopping, that you look out for her at school, that you’re a great kisser -”

“Wait, she actually called me a great kisser?” Cosima asks giddily, interrupting Gram’s list.

Gram just smiles at Cosima.

“Shit, you just made that part up, didn’t you? You’re evil.”

“And you are too easy, my dear.”

Cosima playfully sticks out her tongue. “Fine, yes, Delphine and I are dating, but it only happened the night of my birthday, so we’re just trying to keep it between us right now.”

“I’m happy for you, Cosima. You’ve got a special girl there, don’t fuck it up.”

“Gram!” Cosima yelps, shocked by her grandma’s language and implication.

“I’m just saying, you sometimes have a tendency to get in your own way, overthink everything. Just let yourself be happy.”

“I’m trying, and she makes me soooo happy, but…”

“But what?”

“Gram, what would you do, hypothetically, if the foundation on which you were building something really great was based on, well, not quite the truth?”

“Cosima, what have you gotten yourself into?”

“Nothing, nothing, it’s hypothetical, remember?”

“Ok, fine. Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to ensure that what I was building didn’t crumble, I wouldn’t let it get too high on a fragile foundation, I would dig up that foundation sooner rather than later.”

“But what if by doing that you ruined everything?”

“It would be ruined eventually anyway though wouldn’t it? So isn’t it better to ruin it early so you can rebuild quicker, rather than wait for it to be ruined when there’s no hope for rebuilding?”

Cosima just nods silently. The honking of a horn breaks the quiet.

“That’s your father, I better get going.”

“Thanks, Gram, for everything.” Cosima hugs her grandmother.

“Love you, see you at graduation.” Gram rushes out as the honking intensifies.

Cosima goes back upstairs to get ready for the day, thinking about what Gram said.

She manages to walk into first period 6 minutes early. A couple minutes later, Beth walks in.

“This is ridiculous. Cosima, tell me the truth. Has an alien inhabited your body? An alien with extreme punctuality?”

“Yes, Beth, that’s exactly what’s happening.”

Delphine walks in as Beth and Cosima are chatting, her eyes light up when she sees Cosima. “Cosima! You’re here already,” Delphine shouts as she strides over to her.

Cosima stands up. “Hey, Delphine! Yeah, well someone may have set me up for an early wake up call.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No, no, I’m glad you did, I was able to see Gram before she left. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” The two girls stand, looking at each other.

“So, uh, are you two gonna have a staring contest or maybe, you know, sit down?” Beth asks.

Startled out of their trance, they take their seats and steal glances at one another throughout the class. When the bell finally rings, Cosima jumps out of her chair, followed by Delphine.

“See you later, Beth,” Cosima says as she and Delphine hurry into the hall.

They begin their walk to Trig, their arms brushing as they walk. “I gotta say, I was disappointed to wake up alone, but your note was insanely adorable.”

Delphine smiles. “I didn’t want to leave, but I had tutoring, which was quite interesting this morning.”

“How so?”

“Well, Ramon tipped me.”

“Oh yeah? That’s cool. How much?”

“$25.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

“That’s a 100% tip, Cosima. I’m pretty sure that’s not normal.”

“You must be a great tutor.”

“Uh huh, I’m sure that’s it,” Delphine responds, eyeing Cosima suspiciously as they arrive at Trigonometry.

After 45 minutes of boredom, during which Mr. Riggs spent most of the time talking about his upcoming marathon instead of actually teaching, the girls make their way towards English.

“So, you ready for the upcoming lunchtime breakup scene?” Cosima asks.

“I think so, I just hope Scott is. I don’t want this break up to make things worse for him at school, but I just, well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s my fault for being so damn irresistible,” Cosima smirks and Delphine rolls her eyes.

“Cosima, come with me for a moment.” Delphine leads her into the bathroom and takes a quick glance under the stalls, making sure they’re alone.

“Delphine, are you incapable of going to the bathroom on your own?” Cosima laughs.

“Yes, actually, when the reason I go to the bathroom is because I want to do this.” She pulls Cosima close and kisses her.

When they break apart, Cosima grins. “Um, ok, I will happily accompany you to the bathroom whenever you want. In fact, I think when Scott breaks up with you, you should rush to the bathroom in tears. You’ll probably be in need of consoling and I am an expert consoler.”

“Yes, I will need of a lot of consoling,” Delphine laughs as she leads Cosima out of the bathroom and into English class.

When English ends, the girls have to go their separate ways. “This is where I leave you,” Cosima says as they step into the hall. “I’ll see you at lunch, you’re gonna kill it.” Cosima gives Delphine a thumbs up as they part ways.

When Delphine enters Criminal Law, Scott is already there. “Hi Scott,” Delphine says as she approaches him. She leans in to kiss his cheek, but he pulls back.

“Come on, babe, cool it with the PDA.”

“Excuse me?” She asks, surprised.

“I know you can’t keep your lips off me, but we’re in class, you need to control yourself,” Scott says harshly, attracting the attention of Aynsley and Chad.

Delphine sulks over to her desk and sits down next to Beth.

“What was that? Trouble in fake paradise?” Beth asks.

Delphine just shrugs.

When class ends, Delphine approaches Scott. “Scott, can we talk?”

“Not now, Delphine.”

“Please, just for a second.”

“Fine.”

The class empties out, leaving Delphine and Scott alone.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to be so harsh,”

  
“Don’t apologize, Scott, you’re playing the part well, though you did catch me off guard at first. So, you ready for the next round?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Delphine and Scott head to the cafeteria.

Cosima is at the lunch table eagerly anticipating the show. Soon enough, the doors open and Delphine and Scott walk in.

“Scott, please, why are you doing this?” Delphine cries out.

“I’ve told you, you’re too clingy. We’re in high school, Delphine, you’re not my wife. You don’t have to hang all over me day and night,” Scott says loudly.

Students start gawking at the scene unfolding in front of them. Sarah and Beth glance at Cosima, silently wondering what the hell is going on. Cosima ignores them, gaze fixed on Delphine and Scott.

“Scott, I’ve just never dated someone like you before. I can’t stop myself from wanting to touch you, wanting to kiss you.”

“Delphine, you’re a great girl, but we’re just not right for each other. You want too much from me. I’m young, I can’t be tied down to one girl right now.”

“No, Scott, don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry, but we’re through.”

“How am I supposed to get over you?” She yelps.

“With time you’ll find someone else.”

“No, there’s no man that can ever replace you, Scott,” Delphine asserts.

Cosima stifles a laugh.

“Goodbye, Delphine. I hope, with time, we can be friends.” Scott pats her shoulder before walking away.

Delphine begins to sob and runs off. She enters the bathroom and heads to the sink. She looks in the mirror and smiles, then she splashes some water on her face to wash away the fake tears. She doesn’t hear the bathroom door open, but feels a light tap on her back. She instantly turns and pulls the other girl into a kiss.

“Oi, what is wrong with you?” Sarah asks harshly, pulling out of Delphine’s grasp.

Delphine opens her eyes, shocked. “Sarah? I thought you were -”

The door swings open, interrupting her.

“Delphine, are you in here? I went to the bathroom by English, but you weren’t there.”

“Cos?”

“Oh, shit, Sarah, what are you doing here?”

“Being mauled by Delphine.”

“What?” Cosima asks, confused.

“She just grabbed me and planted one on me.”

“Sarah, I, uh, I didn’t know it was you.” Delphine says, embarrassed.

Cosima giggles.

“Wait a bloody minute. You were expecting Cos, weren’t you? You were! Holy shite! That whole scene out there, I knew it made no sense. You two, you’re together, aren’t you?”

Delphine and Cosima glance at one another, silently giving permission to tell Sarah the truth.

“Yes, we are.” Cosima affirms, stepping closer to Delphine and taking her hand.

“Finally! You little geek monkey, look at you,” she slugs Cosima’s arm playfully.

The bathroom door swings open and Beth walks in.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“Cos and Blondie are what’s going on,” Sarah answers.

“Huh?” Beth asks, looking at the three girls, before seeing the linked hands and realization sets in. “Ohhh.”

“So when did this finally happen?” Sarah asks.

“After we got home from bowling.” Cosima admits.

“Yes! I won! Pay up Childs,” Sarah shouts.

“Won?” Cosima questions as Beth hands over $20 to Sarah.

“On the way home that night, Beth and I bet on how soon it would take for you two to get your shit together and admit your feelings. I put my money on within 24 hours. Beth had 72 hours.”

“You two bet on us? And how were you so sure it was mutual on Delphine’s part?”

“Get real, Cos, we all saw that display at the bowling alley.” Sarah puts on a French accent, mimicking Delphine, _“Oh Cosima, how do I roll this heavy ball down this long lane? I don’t think I can figure it out, can you stand real close and show me?_ That was the most blatant display of flirting I’ve ever witnessed,” Sarah claims. “Once I was certain she liked you, I knew it was only a matter of time.”

Cosima turns to Delphine, whose face is in her palms. “Delphine? Was that whole thing an act? Were you flirting with me?”

Delphine peaks through her fingers to look at Cosima. “Maybe bowling wasn’t as hard as I made it out to be.”

“But you threw the ball three lanes over?”

“Yeah, I sort of overdid it, I was aiming for the lane next to ours. I just wanted an excuse for a little up close and personal instruction.”

Cosima gasps. “You minx!”

“Hey, you started it with that move during basketball. Rolling into me like that.”

“Um, Delphine, that was skill, not me flirting with you,” Cosima insists.

“But you winked at me.”

“Are you sure I wasn’t just blinking with one eye?”

“Cosima!”

“Fine, yeah, maybe there was a little flirting.”

“Alright, now that that’s clear,” Beth says with a roll of her eyes, “what was that whole Scott thing back there about?”

“They staged a breakup so that Delphine could be free to pursue other interests, while making Scott look interesting to other girls,” Cosima answers.

“Other interests, huh?” Sarah smirks.

“Well, Scott was pretty convincing. I almost thought you guys were a real couple breaking up for a sec,” Beth observes.

“Yeah, I was impressed with Scotty. He did a good job selling it. You too, Delphine,” Cosima states.

“Thanks, I had a lot of incentive,” Delphine smiles.

Cosima blushes. “We’re keeping this,” she gestures between herself and Delphine, “on the down low for a bit until it looks less conspicuous that she’s with me.”

“So you just plan to sneak off to the bathroom for a little nookie, then, huh?” Sarah asks. “Tell me, Blondie, who’s a better kisser, Cosima or me?”

“What?” Beth asks, bewildered.

“This one tried to stick her tongue down my throat,” Sarah points to Delphine.

Delphine reddens. “It was a mistake, I thought she was Cosima. But, sorry Sarah, as far as kisses go, it did not compare to Cosima’s.”

Cosima’s face breaks out into a giant, proud smile.

“Hey, I wasn’t prepared, next time warn me and I’m sure you’ll change your tune,” Sarah jokes.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Cosima asserts. “Can you two do us a favor and go back to the cafeteria and say that Delphine’s having a tough time with the breakup? I’m gonna stay behind and keep consoling her.”

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Sarah laughs. “Ok, come on Beth, let’s leave these two science girlfriends to their ‘consoling.’ ”

Sarah and Beth leave the bathroom and Cosima turns to Delphine. “I can’t believe you kissed Sarah.”

Delphine groans. “I’m so embarrassed, I thought it was you and just reacted quickly. I didn’t mean to -”

“Hey, it’s ok,” Cosima grabs Delphine’s flailing hands. “So, am I really a better kisser than Sarah?”

“Well, like she said, it’s not like she gave it her all,” Cosima gives her a skeptical look, “But, from what I was able to glean, you’re a way better kisser than Sarah.”

Cosima smiles and moves in closer to Delphine, stopping inches from her lips. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Sarah, but I don’t want to _love_ Sarah, if you know what I mean, so, uh,” Cosima quickly wets a paper towel and hands it to Delphine.

“Cosima, you’re crazy.” Delphine says as she wipes Sarah off her mouth.

“Just crazy about you,” Cosima replies, pulling herself up into a kiss.

As lunch ends, the bathroom door swings open, the girls quickly distancing themselves. In walks Aynsley.

“Delphine, are you ok?” Aynsley asks.

“Yes, thank you, it’s just hard, you know, losing Scott. He was an amazing boyfriend.”

“Really?”

“Oui, the boys in France have nothing on him. I guess I was just too clingy, but I couldn’t help myself.”

Delphine and Cosima leave Aynsley and head to their next class. Meera walks in after them.

“Meera, I think we may have underestimated Scott Smith,” Aynsley says. “If a beautiful, sophisticated girl like Delphine is that torn up over him, well maybe Charity shouldn’t have been so quick to turn him down.”

After photography, Delphine and Cosima make their way to Chemistry. Scott is already there when they walk in and Delphine avoids him, walking straight to her table. Scott approaches Cosima.

“Hey, Cosima, is she mad?”

“No, she’s just playing the part. You did good, Scotty.”

“Thanks. A couple girls have already given me their numbers, so I think it worked,” he says giddily.

“Whoa, dude, nice!” She looks over at a faux-lorn Delphine. “I better go make sure she’s ok,” Cosima winks.

Cosima sits down at her table next to Delphine. “Scott already scored two phone numbers since your break-up,” she whispers.

“What? That’s great,” she says happily before sobering. “I mean, how dare he accept other girls’ phone numbers so soon?”

“Yeah, the nerve!” Cosima concurs, shooting Delphine a discreet smile.

As they get to work, Dr. Leekie comes around to their station.

“Ladies, how is everything coming along?”

“Great,” Cosima answers.

“Cosima, have you heard from any more schools?” He asks.

“Cosima got accepted into the University of Minnesota,” Delphine responds.

“That’s fabulous. Congratulations!”

“Thank you, Dr. Leekie,” Cosima responds, shaking his outstretched hand.

“And you, Delphine?” He asks, turning his attention to the blonde.

“Still weighing my options.”

He puts his hand on top of hers, which is resting on the table. “My offer still stands, if you want to talk it over, please come by my office.”

Cosima glares at him and the placement of his hand. Delphine simply nods, before he removes his hand and walks to the next table.

“How many times is he gonna pull that freaky Leekie routine on you?” Cosima fumes.

“Don’t worry, I have no plans to go to his office to talk anything out.”

“I know, it’s just, ugh, I don’t want him looking at you or touching you like that.”

“Have I told you lately how cute your overprotectiveness is?”

“No, how cute is it?”

“Très mignonne.”

After school, Delphine goes to rehearsal, while Cosima heads home.

Hours later, Cosima is reading when Delphine knocks on her door.

“Cosima?”

“Yeah, come in, Delphine.”

Delphine enters and sits on the bed next to Cosima.

“How was rehearsal?”

“Pretty good. We ran through _One More Day_.”

Cosima stares at her blankly.

“It’s a big group number.”

“Oh,” Cosima responds.

“Um, Cosima, today Alexander gave each member of the cast two tickets to give to family or friends, and I know you don’t like musicals, but I’d really like it if you came. It would mean a lot to have you there and I think it would make me less nervous if I could look out into the crowd and see your face.” Delphine says shyly, holding out a ticket, her face full of hope. “So, will you take the ticket and come to the show?”

“I’m sorry, Delphine, I can’t accept the ticket.” Delphine’s expression immediately changes to one of sadness.

“Oh, ok,” Delphine nods, looking down.

Cosima moves her hand to Delphine’s chin and gently nudges it up so she’s looking her in the eyes. “And the reason I can’t accept the ticket is because I already bought one.” Cosima says, turning and pulling a ticket from her nightstand drawer.

Delphine’s face instantly brightens as a huge smile comes over her face. She gives Cosima a playful smack. “You just let me go on like that when you already had a ticket. I thought you hated musicals?”

“I do, but I don’t hate you. There’s not a lot I wouldn’t do for you, you know? Even sit through a three hour musical.”

Delphine surges forward, grabbing Cosima’s face and pulling her into a kiss.

“Hey, if I knew buying a ticket would have that effect, I would have told you about it last week,” Cosima laughs.

“Last week?”

“Yeah, I bought it Wednesday when tickets went on sale.”

“But that was before, well before us,” Delphine remarks.

“Yeah, well, like I said, I would do anything for you. Girlfriend or not, I still planned to be there to support you.”

Delphine gives her another kiss.

“I just hope you’re good,” Cosima says and gets a playful shove from Delphine in return.

The girls go downstairs for dinner. While they’re eating, Delphine pulls out the tickets. “Don, Nancy, you’ve been so kind to me, allowing me to stay here in your home, treating me like family, and well, they gave us two tickets to share with family and friends and I was hoping you would accept them and come see me in the musical on opening night.”

“Delphine, that is so sweet of you, of course, we would love to see you in the musical.” Nancy says, reaching over and giving Delphine’s hand a squeeze.

“I’ve actually always wanted Cosima to take part in a school production, but she’s stubbornly refused,” Don laughs. “She prefers to sit in a lab experimenting like her old man.”

“Yeah, yeah, well that’s why Delphine is here, so you can live out that fantasy through a new kid.”

“Delphine, are you sure you want to use both of your tickets on Don and I? I know Cosima isn’t fond of musicals, but surely she could make an exception this one time.”

“Actually, Cosima bought a ticket,” Delphine grins.

Shocked, Don and Nancy turn to look at Cosima.

“What are you two looking at? Yes, I bought a ticket. Maybe I’m a secret fan of musicals after all.”

Nancy turns her attention back to Delphine. “Delphine, you should consider yourself very special. Alison has tried to get Cosima to attend her performances for years with no success.”

Delphine looks at Cosima, who just shrugs.

“So, while we look forward to the curtain going up on Delphine’s performance, is there something you want to uncover for us, Cosima?” Don asks, pointing towards her wrapped wrist.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” she laughs. “Delphine, would you do the honors?”

Delphine reaches over and carefully pulls the covering off of Cosima’s tattoo. Cosima holds it up to show her parents.

“Wow, kiddo, a nautilus, how cool,” Don exclaims.

“I love it, Cosima!” Nancy exclaims.

“Dude, how dope are my parents?”

“Trés dope,” Delphine chuckles.

Later that night, Delphine and Cosima are working on homework in Cosima’s room.

“That was nice, Delphine, giving my folks the tickets, they were really touched.”

“They truly are the closest I have to parents here, they’ve made me feel so welcome and I owe them so much. I’m happy they’ll be there.”

They continue their work, but Cosima keeps glancing at Delphine, working up the courage to say something.

“Hey, I read your note you know?” Cosima finally says.

“Yeah, I know you told me you read it this morning.”

“No, not the pillow note, I meant the note inside the book.”

“Oh,” Delphine looks away, embarrassed.

“It was really sweet. You could have written it inside the book, though, it wouldn’t have devalued it. If anything, it would have made it more valuable.” Delphine looks at her skeptically.

“To me,” Cosima continues. “It’s not like I’d ever sell it. It’s special because you gave it to me and that means more than anything. I’m going to hold onto that book forever.”

Delphine smiles. “I meant every word. There was so much more I wanted to say, but I didn’t know that we would actually get here and I was too scared to put my deepest feelings on paper.”

“I get it,” Cosima nods. “Part of the reason I was out there on the roof the other night was because of your note.”

“Really? Why?”

“It just made me think. I had so many emotions going on inside of me that day and your words, they really affected me. Delphine, what you said about it feeling like you’ve known me for a lifetime, I feel the same, but, um, there’s a reason you feel that way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you see,” Cosima struggles to find the words to tell Delphine the truth. She wants to tell her so badly, just spit it out, tell her she was her doll, but running through that statement in her head, it sounds so silly, so scary.

Delphine takes Cosima’s hands in hers. “What is it, Cosima?”

“You have known me your whole life, Delphine.” Delphine eyes go wide. “I mean the life you can remember at least.” Nerves 1, Cosima 0.

Delphine laughs. “This is true. I guess I don’t remember a time when you weren’t in my life. And the more time we spend together, the less I want to remember anything else.”

Cosima raises the hands holding hers to her mouth, kissing them softly, then leans forward, kissing Delphine’s lips. Suddenly, Delphine yawns.

“I’m that exciting, huh?” Cosima says, mock-offended.

“Non, non, you are very exciting, I’m just very tired.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess it is late. Well let’s get ready for bed. I can use some sleep, too, I was woken up very early this morning,” she smirks.

They both change for bed. Delphine wishes Cosima goodnight, kisses her, then starts for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“To the guest room. Now that your grandmother is no longer using it, I should be.”

“What? No way, stay here, with me.” Cosima pleads.

“But Cosima, your parents will wonder why I chose to stay here and not go back to my own room.”

“I doubt they’ll notice and, if they do, we’ll just make up an excuse. Come on, how am I supposed to sleep all alone now? I don’t think I’ve ever slept as well as I have the last couple of nights,” Cosima makes a pouty face.

“Are you sure it’s not the new pillow Beth got you?” Delphine asks.

“Oh, I’m sure, unless it’s the pillow that’s been kissing me to sleep.”

“No, that was definitely not the pillow. But really, Cosima, I can’t.”

Cosima nods her head. “I understand.”

Delphine gives Cosima one last kiss before departing for the guest room. “Bonne nuit.”

Cosima shuts the lights and gets into bed. She lays there, looking at the empty space on the right side of the bed. After an hour of being unable to fall asleep, she rolls over to the other side, burying her face in the pillow there, a pillow that smells like Delphine. Before she knows it, she’s drifted off to sleep.

“Ow,” Cosima yelps as she’s startled awake.

“Cosima?”

“Delphine, why are you sitting on me? What time is it?”

“It’s 2:30,” Delphine responds as she moves off of Cosima.

“P.M.?”

“No, a.m.”

“Oh, of course, who doesn’t go around sitting on people in the middle of the night?”

Delphine laughs. “I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you to be on this side of the bed.”

“Wait,” Cosima suddenly opens her eyes and sits up. “Why are you here right now? Is something wrong?”

“Well, um, I couldn’t sleep,” Delphine admits.

Cosima smiles, then scoots over a bit to the left before holding the blanket open and patting the right side of the bed. “Come on, lay down.”

Delphine stretches out and Cosima covers her with the blanket, before draping an arm around her.

“Sorry I sat on you.”

“I’ve had worse wake ups.”

“Cosima?”

“Mmm?”

“Why were you on the wrong side of the bed?”

“It’s not the wrong side, it’s the right side, and, well, I couldn’t sleep either. I moved over to your spot and the last thing I remember is breathing in your scent on that pillow.”

“That’s oddly romantic,” Delphine remarks.

“Yeah, well, you coming back here is totally encouraging. Is this gonna be a permanent sleeping situation?”

“We’ll see,” Delphine grins as she snuggles in close to Cosima.

An equally enthusiastic grin appears on Cosima’s face and soon they’re both sound asleep.


	18. I Feel the Earth Move

It’s been two days since Cosima got her tattoo and her friends are eager to see it. At lunch they all crowd around the table, waiting for the big reveal. Once they’re all present, Cosima rolls her sweater up to her elbow, exposing the inside of her wrist.

There are oohs and aahs as they all voice their approval of the design. Felix, in particular, is impressed that it was made from Cosima’s very own sketch. “Cosima, do you know how great it is to have a friend who can appreciate art?”

“Hey, I also appreciate Art.” Art jokes, earning groans from the table.

“Dreads, you totally need to take me to that shop, I have so many ideas for cool tats I wanna get,” Tony says, excitedly. 

“Sure thing, Tony, anytime,” Cosima smiles.

“Me too,” Helena adds.

“What do you wanna get, Helena,” Sarah asks.

“I think maybe a bowl of jello or a can of sardines,” Helena answers. 

“Nope, no way. Cos, do not ever take Helena to get a tattoo unless it comes off with soap and water,” Sarah pleads.

Cosima laughs. 

“That must have hurt,” Alison observes, taking a closer look at the design. 

“Nah, it was totally manageable,” Cosima swears, glancing over at Delphine, who smiles at her.

Later that day, Cosima walks Delphine to the auditorium for her rehearsal. “Did you see that look Leekie gave you when he heard Scott tell Colin that you two broke up?”

“No,” Delphine replies.

“Are you kidding? He did one of those lecherous eyebrow raises of his,” Cosima mimics the action.

Delphine shakes her head. “You are too much. I’ll see you later.” She takes a quick glance around before giving Cosima a peck on the lips. 

Cosima starts walking away. “Cosima? Isn’t the parking lot the other way?” Delphine calls out.

Cosima spins around. “Yeah, I just gotta grab something I left in my locker.” 

Delphine retreats into the auditorium, while Cosima starts walking briskly through the halls, bypassing her locker with a much different destination in mind.

At rehearsal, Felix and Sarah Stubbs are working on Eponine’s death scene, the rest of the cast watches from the sidelines. After rehearsal, Delphine approaches Sarah.

“Sarah, that was a beautiful performance,” Delphine tells her.

“Oh my, thank you, Delphine. Wow, that means a lot coming from you, you’re like, so amazing.”

“I don’t know about that, but you are very talented, Sarah. I’ve learned a lot from watching you.” 

Suddenly, Sarah envelops Delphine in a hug. When they break apart, Delphine has a slightly confused expression on her face, but Sarah is grinning from ear to ear.

“Delphine, you are not at all like I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?” Delphine asks hesitantly.

“Oh, you know, you’re a gorgeous blonde, so I thought you’d be kind of aloof like those mean girls, Charity and Aynsley, but you’re actually very nice. And you keep much better company, like Alison and Scott. I’m sorry, by the way, about you and Scott. I saw what happened in the cafeteria yesterday. How are you holding up?”

“It’s been tough, of course, but I’ll be fine, in time,” Delphine responds stoically.

“Yeah, I can imagine, losing a guy like Scott. I don’t think I would have been able to get out of bed for at least a week if I was in your shoes,” Sarah admits.

“Is that so?” Delphine asks intrigued.

“Oh yes. I mean Scott is just so smart, so kind, so handsome. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be saying these things to you under the circumstances,” Sarah apologizes.

“No, no, everything you’re saying is true. Unfortunately, relationships don’t always work out.”

“Can I admit something to you, Delphine?” Sarah asks.

“Yes, of course.”

“I’ve kind of had a crush on Scott since middle school.”

“Really? Wow. Does Scott know?”

“Oh heavens no, he is so out of my league and I’ve always been too shy to say anything.”

“You should. You never know.”

“No way, I mean he just broke up with a goddess like you, he’d certainly never be interested in someone like me.”

“That’s silly, Sarah. If anything he should be flattered that such a sweet girl like you thinks so highly of him.”

“Thanks,” Sarah says shyly, “but I just wanted you to know that I understand what you’re going through and I’m here for you if you ever need a sympathetic shoulder to cry on.”

“I appreciate that,” Delphine replies.

Later that night, Delphine and Cosima are lying in bed, Cosima snuggled up against Delphine, her eyes closed, with her head resting on Delphine’s chest.

“What do you think of Sarah Stubbs?” Delphine suddenly asks, breaking the silence in the room.

“Sarah Stubbs? She’s nice, I guess. Why?” Cosima asks, confused by the random question.

“We got to talking after rehearsal today and she told me she likes Scott.”

“Like like likes him?” Cosima asks, lifting her head to look at Delphine.

“Yeah, she said she’s liked him since middle school, but has been too shy to say anything to him.”

“And she told this to his supposed ex-girlfriend?” 

“I think it was some kind of bonding moment, but it got me thinking, they would be cute together, don’t you think?”

“Hmm, yeah, I could see it, but Scott said he’s gotten a couple numbers since your break up. Now he just has to get up the nerve to call them.”

“Yeah, but those are girls who are just buying into our act, Sarah liked him before all that. She’s sincere in her affection.”

“Ok, you have a point. What do you want to do about it?” 

“I don’t know, find some way to get them together, I guess. Test their chemistry. I’m just not sure how to go about it. Do I try to get them in a room together and see what happens? Or do I approach Scott and tell him what Sarah revealed and see how he reacts?”

“Why don’t you just tell Sarah to grab Scott and plant a kiss on him, that usually works?” Cosima suggests with a smirk.

Delphine giggles. “That worked on you because you were already crazy about me.”

“True. It also didn’t hurt that you have the softest, most succulent lips.” Cosima leans forward capturing those lips in a tender kiss.

Delphine pulls away. “Cosima, now you’re just distracting me. What should I do about Scott and Sarah?”

Cosima groans. “Ok, ok, how about Friday night?”

“Friday night?”

“At the after party for opening night of your musical. They’ll both be there, we can steer them in the right direction.”

“We? Does that mean you’ll help?”

“Can I say no to you?”

“Non.” Delphine smiles. “I knew you’d come up with a good idea, you always do.”

“I have another good idea,” Cosima says.

“Yeah, what’s that?”

Cosima teases Delphine with a very quick kiss, before snuggling into her side and laying her head back down on her chest.

“Cosima, is your good idea to just use me as a human pillow?” Delphine laughs.

“Yup! Goodnight, Delphine.”

Delphine kisses the top of Cosima’s head before wrapping her arms around her and laying her own head softly against her pillow and closing her eyes. 

The next day, everything is pretty status quo until the girls arrive at Chemistry.

Cosima and Delphine walk into the classroom to find their fellow students staring at a very distressed looking Dr. Leekie, who is sitting at his desk in the front of the room, head in his hands.

Cosima and Delphine sit down at their lab table and Cosima beckons Scott over.

“Scott, what’s going on?” Cosima asks. “Why does Leekie look like someone made fun of his hairline?”

“You didn’t hear?” Scott whispers

“Hear what?”

“Somebody snuck into his office yesterday after school and put an electric eel in one of the tubes connected to his bio-energy farm. It fried the whole thing.”

“Whoa,” Cosima exclaims. “Do they have any idea who did it?”

“Nope, but they think it was an inside job. Whoever did it must have had a key to the science department, there was no sign of forced entry.”

“Class, please continue to work on your labs,” Leekie announces, his voice shaking. “I need to check on something.” He rushes out of the room, as if on the verge of tears.

Scott heads back to his table. 

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this incident, would you?”

“Me?” Cosima asks innocently. “How would I know anything about that?”

Delphine looks at her skeptically. “Where did you go after school yesterday?”

“Home.”

“What did you need from your locker?”

“A notebook,” Cosima answers quickly. “Delphine, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well, you were complaining about Dr. Leekie yesterday and you do have a key to the science wing.”

“Hmm, just coincidences, I guess,” Cosima shrugs.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Delphine replies unconvinced, looking at Cosima intently for any sign of guilt.

Cosima winks at her and Delphine just shakes her head as they get to work.

Later that evening, Delphine gets home from rehearsal to find Cosima and her parents sitting in the living room, food laid out on the coffee table.

“Hey, Delphine!” Cosima shouts. 

“Hi, what’s going on?” Delphine asks.

“We’ve been waiting for you. Mom picked up some French food.”

“It’s coq au vin,” Nancy states.

“Wow, this is for me?” 

“Yeah, Dad saw that Les Miz was on HBO tonight so we decided to make it a whole French themed night for you.”

“You’re actually going to watch the movie, Cosima?” Delphine asks surprised.

“Yup, though I can’t promise I won’t doze off.”

“Cosima!” Nancy chastises. 

“This is really so thoughtful of all of you,” Delphine says touched.

“Come on, sit down,” Cosima pats the cushion next to her. 

Don is seated in the lazy boy, while Nancy sits on the chaise at one end of the couch, Cosima in the middle and Delphine on her other side. They fill their plates with food and begin to eat, talking about their day, while waiting for the movie to start. 

“Mmm, this is really delicious,” Delphine enthuses.

It’s finally time for the movie, the girls put their plates down on the table, and sit back to watch. The movie starts, Hugh Jackman is singing, and Delphine is immediately engrossed. Cosima, however, is more interested in watching Delphine watch the movie than the movie itself and sneaks glances at her throughout. 

Suddenly, right when Amanda Seyfried first appears as a teenage Cosette, the house starts shaking, the cable cutting out. Delphine shrieks and practically throws herself in Cosima’s lap, burying her head in Cosima’s neck. Cosima wraps her arms around the trembling girl as the shaking ceases.

“Hey, hey, Delphine,” Cosima says softly, “it’s ok, it’s over.”

Delphine slowly lifts her head, looking into Cosima’s concerned eyes. “What was that?”

“An earthquake. They’re actually a common occurrence around these parts, but it’s ok, we’re ok, you’re safe. That was a minor one,” Cosima assures. 

“That was minor?” Delphine responds incredulously. 

“Oh yeah. Look, nothing even fell off the walls.” Delphine glances around the room, before noticing Don and Nancy looking at her. She then realizes the position she’s in, sitting in Cosima’s lap, and quickly moves off of her and back onto the couch cushion she jumped from. 

“Sorry, I, um, that was really terrifying,” Delphine says with embarrassment. 

“Sweetie, no need to apologize, earthquakes are scary, especially if it’s your first one,” Nancy says soothingly. 

Just then, there’s a small aftershock, Delphine reaches for Cosima’s hand, gripping it tightly. “And that?”

“That’s just an aftershock, they happen, just a little tremor from the earthquake,” Cosima answers. 

The look on Delphine’s face is one of pure terror, scared of what just occurred and scared it will happen again. Cosima, without thinking, leans over and kisses the side of Delphine’s head soothingly. “Delphine, look at me. I promise, everything is ok.”

Delphine looks into Cosima’s sincere eyes and nods. “Ok.” She then rests her head against Cosima’s. 

Nancy and Don look at the girls, then at each other, giving one another a look of silent understanding. “So,” Nancy says, “this seems like as a good a time as any to talk.” She shuts off the tv.

The girls look up. “Talk?” Cosima asks. 

“Is there something you maybe want to tell us?” Nancy asks, pointing to their hands, which are still tightly entwined.

The girls, suddenly aware of what they’re doing, release their grasp. “No, um, sorry, I was just nervous and um-”

“Delphine,” Cosima cuts her off, “I think they know.”

Delphine glances at them shyly. 

“So, did this give us away or -?” Cosima trails off. 

“We’ve had our suspicions that you’ve liked one another for a while,” Nancy answers, “but only in the last few days did we become pretty convinced things had progressed.”

“Progressed?” Cosima asks. 

“We’re not blind, we’ve noticed the looks, the little touches, you buying a ticket to the musical, the unused bed in the guest room,” Nancy states.

“We haven’t been, um, you know,” Delphine blurts. 

“Relax, it’s ok,” Nancy assures.

“Wait,” Cosima interjects, “you say you’ve suspected for a while, but you put us in the same room while Gram was here. Why would you do that?”

“Your mom may have been playing matchmaker, helping things along a bit,” Don chimes in. 

“Mom!” Cosima exclaims, “Are you, like, my wingwoman now?”

“Your what?” Delphine asks, confused by this whole conversation.

“Basically, my mom set us up to admit our feelings by having you stay in my room.” Cosima turns back to her mom, grinning. “It worked, Delphine is totally into me.”

“Cosima!” Delphine gasps, burying her face in her hands. 

“This is what you’ll have to put up with, Delphine. Trust me, I know, I’ve been putting up with that same impudence from her dad for the last 25 years,” Nancy states sympathetically.

Delphine removes her hand from her face and looks at Nancy and Don. “So you’re not mad about us? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable having me here in the house, you know, um, dating your daughter.”

Cosima laughs and Delphine swats her knee. 

“Delphine, it’s fine, really. You’re a good influence on Cosima and she’s obviously happy, very happy, and if you’re happy, too, then that’s really all that matters. We trust both of you,” Nancy affirms.

“Thank you, I am happy,” Delphine replies with a smile, glancing at Cosima, before turning serious. “So about those earthquakes, are there going to be more?”

“There could be, but try not to worry about it,” Don says. “You know, when Cosima was little, she used to be terrified of them, so her mom and I told her that an earthquake was just something the ground did when it was hungry, and when it stopped rumbling, that meant it had finally eaten.”

“You mean that’s not what really happens?” Cosima asks with a cheeky smile.

“You fell for that?” Delphine asks.

“Hey, I was four, I didn’t become clever til I was six.”

“Yes and from then on she lectured us on earthquakes. Every time,” Don remarks with an eye roll.

“An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves…” 

“Cosima, maybe you want to give Delphine your earthquake spiel upstairs, we’ve heard it now a million times,” Nancy states. “Besides, looks like movie night is off.”

“Saved by the earthquake!” Cosima exclaims, running up the stairs, Delphine trailing after her.

Once inside her room, Cosima starts her seismology discussion up again. “Ok, so there’s like half a million earthquakes every year and - ”

Delphine quiets Cosima with a kiss. “Wow, uh, Delphine, who knew you’d get turned on by an earthquake?”

“I’m not, I’m turned on by you comforting me about said earthquake,” Delphine smiles.

“Really? Then bring on more earthquakes.”

“No, no more earthquakes, one was more than enough. That was horrifying.”

“You were scared? Wow, I couldn’t tell, what with the trembling girl in my lap and all. Oh, wait, that was you, wasn’t it?” Cosima smirks.

“Ugh, I am so embarrassed about that, sorry. I guess it also kind of clued your parents in to us.”

“No biggie, they were totes cool about you dating their daughter.” Cosima teases. “And who woulda thought my mother would be all about trying to get me some action, sticking the hot exchange student in my bedroom. And now you don’t have to be so worried about sleeping in here.”

“I don’t know if that makes me feel better or more awkward about it. I don’t want them to think we’re doing anything inappropriate under their roof.”

“Inappropriate?” Cosima laughs.

“Cosima, you know what I mean.”

“I think you already eased those concerns. Besides, they think you’re a good influence. I’m sure at most they just think you’re teaching me how to kiss in French.”

“Little do they know their daughter is the one doing the teaching on that front,” Delphine hums.

“Delphine! I meant kissing me on each cheek, get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Oh, of course, sorry, from now on I will stick exclusively to cheek kisses.” Delphine emphasizes her point by placing a chaste kiss on Cosima’s right cheek, followed by another on her left cheek, then she looks into Cosima’s eyes tantalizingly, their lips inches apart. 

“On second thought,” Cosima grabs Delphine’s face, closing the distance between their lips, kissing her deeply, “I like this kind of French kissing better.”

Another aftershock hits, but neither girl notices.


	19. A Musical Interlude

It’s Friday at 6:00pm, the cast has just concluded dress rehearsal, their opening night performance is just an hour away. Alison and Sarah Stubbs are in separate corners doing vocal exercises. Felix is dancing and singing along to his iPod. Art is helping himself to the craft services table. Aynsley, who plays Madame Thernardier, is doing yoga. And Delphine is pacing back and forth reviewing her lines.

Back at home, Cosima is changing into a dress, while her parents wait in the living room for her to get finished. Cosima comes down the stairs at 6:15.

“Lookin’ good, Kiddo,” her dad exclaims. “And we still have 45 minutes til the curtain rises.”

“I kind of want to get there early, find a good seat. And there’s one stop I want to make on the way.”

The Niehaus’s car pulls into the school parking lot at 6:40. “Do you think these are nice, maybe I should have chosen something different?” Cosima asks.

“Cosima, the flowers are beautiful, she’ll love them,” Nancy replies, looking at the bouquet Cosima is holding.

The family exits the car and makes their way to the auditorium where Cosima runs into Beth and Sarah.

“Hey, Cos, look at you with the flowers, who could those be for?” Sarah smirks.

“Come on, Cosima, Sarah and I got great seats up there, we held the center seat for you,” Beth says, pointing to the fifth row where Tony and Helena are seated.

“Mom, Dad, do you mind if I sit with my friends?” Cosima asks.

“Not at all, we’ll take these seats right here,” Nancy replies, pointing to two seats in the 12th row.

Cosima follows her friends to their seats, greeting a seated Tony and Helena as she scooches by them.

“I like your flowers,” Helena states.

“Thanks!” Cosima says as she takes her seat.

Backstage, Alexander beckons the cast. “Okay, troupe, everyone, gather. Aynsley, Alison, please gather.” Everyone joins hands in a circle. “Today’s performance is dedicated to our dear, broken-nosed Charity. Charity, we know you’re with us, even though you refuse to be seen in public until your nose has healed. Though you are missed, we thank you for bringing us our lovely, new Cosette, Delphine. We, and she, are going to do you proud. For Charity.”

“For Charity,” they reply, not at all sincerely.

“Wow, Alexander, that was deep,” Aynsley remarks with an eye roll. “I wonder what you would have said if Charity was dead.”

They break the circle, the cast scattering to finish getting their hair and makeup done. Delphine, worried that Cosima will be late to the show, glances through the curtain. She immediately spots Cosima, who is smiling and laughing with her friends. She then scans the rest of the auditorium, which is quickly filling up, and is shocked by the amount of people attending the show. She backs away from the curtain, sweat starts to bead on her forehead and her hands begin to shake. Her mouth goes dry and her skin goes pale.

Alison notices and approaches with concern. “Delphine, are you okay?”

“I, uh, I don’t think so.”

“What can I do to help?”

Delphine doesn’t respond, instead she begins murmuring something that Alison doesn’t understand.

“Delphine, sweetie, what are you saying?” Alison asks.

Back in the auditorium, Sarah is laughing as she tells her friends about Felix’s dance moves last night as he ran through his scenes in his bedroom.

“Shh.” Cosima suddenly interrupts.

“What is it, Cos?”

“Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Beth asks, as they all go quiet.

Cosima listens carefully, blocking out all surrounding chatter. “That,” she shouts.

They all look at her with confused faces.

“Hold this,” Cosima says, handing Sarah the flowers as she jumps out of her seat and makes her way into the aisle and then around the back of the stage. Once behind the curtain, Alison looks up, relieved to see her.

“Cosima, thanks goodness. I don’t know what she’s saying or what’s wrong with her,” she gestures towards Delphine who is now sitting on the stage, repeating the same word over and over.

“Polonium,” Cosima states. “She’s saying polonium. Ali, can you excuse us for a sec and keep everyone back there?”

“Sure, Cosima.” Alison pats her shoulder as she heads into the wings.

“Polonium, polonium, polonium,” Delphine repeats, rocking back and forth staring at the back of the curtain.

“Delphine,” Cosima says, kneeling beside her and gently taking her hand.

Delphine finally looks up. “Cosima?”

“Yeah, I thought you might need me. What’s going on?”

“I - I don’t know, I took a peek out through the curtain to look for you and then I saw all of those people and the next thing I knew I was sweating and shaking, I started to see stars and I guess I ended up down here and the only word I could form was-”

“Polonium,” Cosima finishes.

“Yes, polonium. I’m not sure what’s happening to me, but there’s no way I can perform tonight.” Delphine hangs her head in shame.

“I think you’re having a panic attack,” Cosima says, as her free hand begins stroking through Delphine’s hair, then running along her cheek, and finally cupping her chin, gently nudging her head up. “Hey, Del, look at me.”

Delphine’s eyes glance up into Cosima’s. “You’re scared, that’s totally normal. You’re about to perform for the first time in front of an audience. Anyone who claims not to be nervous about that is lying. But you are the strongest person I know and you can do this. Remember how well you did in your mock trial and how worried you were before that?”

“Yes, but that was different, that was just in front of my class, there’s easily a few hundred people out there. I can’t do this, I can’t perform with all those people looking at me, critiquing me,” Delphine cries.

“Then don’t,” Cosima says matter of factly.

“You agree that I should walk away from this? But you just said-”

“No, I think you should totally go on with the show, I just meant don’t perform for all those people, don’t even acknowledge their presence.”

“But how can I, when I go out there, all their faces will be focussed on mine?”

“Yes, they’ll be looking at you, but you don’t have to look at them. Anytime you have to face the audience, I want you to imagine that all the seats are empty. All except for one. 5th row center. That’s where I’ll be. You focus only on me, perform just for me. If there’s one person out there who won’t be judging you, it’s this girl,” Cosima points to herself. “You could step on stage and recite every line in pig latin with an Irish brogue and I would still think you were magnificent.”

“Cosima,” Delphine shakes her head, “that’s silly.”

“No, it’s the truth, Delphine. When I look at you, I don’t see anything but perfection. And, hey, maybe I’m slightly biased-”

“Slightly?” Delphine laughs.

“Okay, majorly biased,” Cosima continues. “But nothing you could do out there would ever change my opinion of you. And, at the end of the day, who cares what anyone else thinks? What’s important is that you give it your all. I don’t know very many people who have never acted or sung before, that would willingly take on a role like you have with just two weeks notice, whether they broke the previous actresses nose on purpose or not. You, Delphine Marie Cormier, are a beast. And I mean that in the most reverential, bow-down and kiss your feet kind of way.”

“Marie?”

“Hey, if I can give you a fake last name, I think I can give you a fake middle name as well.”

“You have a point. Delphine Marie Cormier,” Delphine recites.

“Sounds like a star to me,” Cosima states confidently.

“Cosima, how do you always seem to know the perfect thing to say to me?”

“I guess I just have the perfect muse,” Cosima smiles.

“Thank you for rescuing me from my own anxiety.”

“Hey, I meant what I said the night before your first day of school. If you’re ever overwhelmed by anything, you shout our code word and I’ll be by your side. That’s never gonna change, Delphine. I will always be there for you.”

“I didn’t even realize what I was saying until you appeared up here. I guess something inside of me knew I needed you.”

“Good.” Cosima brings Delphine’s hand up to her lips and kisses it before jumping to her feet and pulling Delphine up with her. “Now, it’s 6:58, the curtain rises in two minutes and I don’t think we should be sitting here when it does.”

Cosima walks Delphine back into the wings where Alison is waiting. “Alison, sorry about that back there,” Delphine apologizes.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you’re ok.”

“I am now.” Delphine turns back to Cosima. “Thank you!”

“Anytime. Just go out there and kill it. And remember, 5th row center, there’s only me.” Delphine nods. “Alison, break a leg or whatever.” Cosima says with a smile as she heads back out into the auditorium and takes her seat as the lights dim.

“Everything alright?” Sarah whispers.

“Yeah, all good,” Cosima nods.

The curtain rises and the show begins. Art is a commanding stage presence as Valjean declares himself 24601. Alison is mesmerizing as Fantine and many in the audience get choked up during her performance of _I Dreamed A Dream_.

The stage goes dark briefly, with a spotlight illuminating a section of the stage where Delphine is holding a broom by a window. Her costuming and hair style have transformed her into a young girl. Cosima instinctively sits up straighter to get a good look at her girlfriend.

Cosette’s gaze out the window allows Delphine to avoid glancing into the audience as she starts to sing, “There is a castle on a cloud, I like to go there in my sleep, Aren't any floors for me to sweep, Not in my castle on a cloud.”

Cosima smiles as Delphine’s pretty voice fills the auditorium. She can detect a hint of shakiness in her tone, but it works in the scene and it’s not something everyone will pick up on.

Cosette then grabs a rag doll and continues singing the song to it. The irony of Delphine singing to a doll is not lost on Cosima.

As Delphine concludes the scene, Sarah leans into Cosima’s ear, “Blondie’s not too bad.”

Cosima’s eyes never leave the stage, she simply smiles and nods her agreement.

After a few more scenes, the action jumps ahead 9 years. When Cosette next appears, she is wearing a beautiful dress and bonnet, Felix’s Marius is immediately struck by her beauty, and in the audience, Cosima’s mouth drops open at the sight.

A little while later, Cosette appears in her bedroom wearing a pretty pink dress. It’s time for Delphine to perform the same song that made her conscious of her feelings for Cosima during her first rehearsal.

She begins by singing into a mirror, voice still a bit shaky with nerves. “How strange - This feeling that my life's begun at last! This change - Can people really fall in love so fast?”

Dephine finally turns, looking out into the audience, zeroing in on Cosima right away, as if there really is nobody else out there but her. Cosima is staring right at her, grinning from ear to ear. Suddenly, Delphine feels unburdened by fear, the shakiness in her voice suddenly replaced by confidence as she sings the rest of the song directly towards Cosima. “What's the matter with you, Cosette? Have you been too much on your own? So many things unclear - So many things unknown… In my life there are so many questions and answers that somehow seem wrong. In my life there are times when I catch in the silence the sigh of a faraway song and it sings of a world that I long to see - Out of reach. Just a whisper away. Waiting for me! Does he know I’m alive? Do I know if he’s real? Does he see what I see? Does he feel what I feel? In my life I’m no longer alone - Now the love in my life is so near… Find me now! Find me here!”

Art takes the stage as Valjean enters Cosette’s bedroom. It takes a moment as he starts to sing before Delphine refocuses her attention from Cosima to him. The scene progresses as Felix as Marius enters and he and Delphine begin singing to one another.

Later, Sarah Stubbs performs _On My Own_ , the spotlight is on her, and her voice is unreal. Cosima follows Sarah’s gaze up to the rear of the auditorium where Scott is manning the spotlight. He looks enthralled by the performance and Cosima smiles at the sight, wheels spinning as she formulates a plan for later that night.

As the cast concludes _One Day More_ , the curtain comes down indicating intermission. Cosima find herself on her feet, clapping wildly.

“Look who is suddenly a fan of the theater,” Beth laughs, observing Cosima’s joy.

“Damn, Fee is really good,” Sarah exclaims to her friends. “Don’t tell him I said that though.”

As her friends excuse themselves to get air or use the bathroom, Cosima sits back down in her seat. Whipping out her cellphone, she composes a text. _Hey, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but I think I’m kinda into this Cosette chick._ She hits send, then realizes Delphine may not have her phone or could be busy. 20 seconds later, her phone buzzes.

_That’s ok, I think Cosette is into you, too. Don’t tell Marius ;)_

Cosima smiles as she responds. _My lips are sealed, at least to Marius :p Seriously, Del, ur kicking ass up there. Your voice is amazing._

_Thank you, Cosima. Wardrobe is yelling for me to go change, I’ll see you after the show. xoxo_

_Can’t wait :)_

“Hey Dreads.” Cosima puts her phone away and look up at Tony, who has returned to his seat.

“Hey Tony.”

“So, you and Curls, huh?” he asks.

“Who?”

“Curls. Delphine,” he clarifies.

“What about us?”

“Come on, Cosima, don’t even play that with me. You are so obvious.”

“Fine, fine, yes, me and Delphine are together, but it’s not public knowledge yet. Am I really that obvious?”

“Yeah. So is she, actually. Damn, girl, I’m jealous, she is hot.”

“Who’s hot?” Sarah asks as she, Beth, and Helena return.

“Curls,” Tony answers.

“Tony knows,” Cosima responds.

“Knows what? I want to know this,” Helena chimes in.

“Cos and Delphine are dating,” Sarah tells her.

“Oh, this I knew,” Helena says.

“What? How did you know?” Cosima asks surprised.

“You look at each other like lovesick puppies,” Helena replies.

“What? We do not!” Cosima protests. She looks at Sarah and Beth, who nod their agreement with Helena’s observation.

The lights dim and the curtain rises on Act 2.

Cosima is enjoying the show more than she ever thought possible, though she’s especially engrossed whenever Delphine is onstage. She’s struck again by Delphine’s beauty and talent as Delphine and Felix perform a reprise of _Heart Full of Love_ , with Delphine taking occasional glances at Cosima throughout.

The musical reaches its stirring conclusion and the audience erupts in cheers and applause as the curtain comes down. Then it rises again as the cast takes their bows. Each major cast member gets their time in the spotlight for individual appreciation by the crowd. When it comes time for Delphine to take her bow, Cosima whistles loudly, then she rushes to the stage, flowers in hand. She stands just below the stage, bouquet extended up towards Delphine. Delphine bends down, smiling, as she reaches for the flowers, but, instead, she grabs hold of Cosima’s face, pulling her into a kiss.

Cosima, shocked, pulls away slightly. “Um, Delphine, why are you kissing me in front of all these people?”

“What people? I don’t see anyone here but you and I.”

Cosima smiles and leans back in for another quick kiss, then hands Delphine the flowers. “They’re Delphinium, seemed appropriate.”

“I love them! Thank you!” Delphine exclaims before retreating back with the rest of the cast for more bows.

Cosima heads back to her seat as her friends all look at her with smiles on their faces.

Tony winks, “Not public knowledge huh, Dreads? That looked pretty public to me.”

Cosima blushes.

The curtain goes down again and stays down as the audience makes their way out into the parking lot.

Don and Nancy find Cosima. “So, Kiddo, did you enjoy the show?” Don smirks. “Cause we sure did.”

Cosima covers her face with her hands. “Oh god, Dad, stop,” she begs.

“What? We thought they put on a great show, all the kids were fantastic,” he remarks faux-innocently.

The sound of cheers causes Cosima to turn, seeing the cast making their way into the parking lot, now in their street clothes. She catches Delphine’s eye, who rushes towards her, holding the bouquet. Cosima hugs her, “Delphine, you were incredible.”

“Thank you.”

“Yes, Delphine, such a lovely performance and you have a beautiful voice,” Nancy adds, while Don gives her a thumbs up.

“Merci!” Delphine smiles.

“So, do you girls need a ride?” Don asks.

“No, actually, Alison’s mom is hosting an after party for the cast and crew at their house. Ali invited the gang to crash. Beth is gonna drive us,” Cosima responds.

“Ok, you girls have fun,” Don says as he and Nancy hug Delphine and tell her again how great she was.

“Delphine, would you like us to take the flowers home for you, get them in water so you don’t have to carry them around all night?” Nancy asks.

“Yes, that would be great, thank you.” She hands over the flowers and Nancy and Don head to their car.

“Those flowers are really beautiful, thank you, again, Cosima.”

“They’re not even half as beautiful as you are,” Cosima replies, causing Delphine to smile before stepping in closer and kissing Cosima.

“So, uh, about this,” Cosima says when they break away, “you do realize everyone saw?”

“I guess, but I meant what I said up on that stage, nobody else was in that auditorium but us. You are the reason I got through that performance and I really don’t care what anyone else thinks. I just want to kiss my girlfriend wherever and whenever I feel like it.”

Cosima smiles that adorable fangy smile, “I can live with that.” Cosima kisses Delphine again.

“Hey, lovebirds, you coming or what?” Beth shouts.

Cosima takes Delphine’s hand and leads her to Beth’s car.

They arrive at Alison’s house and head inside. The girls all approach Alison and tell her how great she was. “Ali, I think you were even better in this than as Annelle in Steel Magnolias,” Beth insists.

“Thank you,” Alison smiles at Beth before turning her attention to Delphine. “Delphine, you were great, I knew asking you to take the part was a wise decision.”

“Thank you, Alison.”

“So, you two, huh?” Alison points at Delphine and Cosima. “That was quite a bow you took.”

“Ali, you didn’t know about them?” Beth asks.

“Oh, I knew, I just didn’t know we were supposed to know, you know?”

“Oh my god, is there anyone that didn’t know?” Cosima wonders aloud.

“I definitely didn’t see that coming,” Aynsley says as she approaches them. “Delphine, I must say I was shocked at that display. You and Cosima? Just last week you were with Scott.”

As if on cue, Scott enters the house. “Scott!” Aynsley shouts. “Did you see what you’ve done to Delphine?”

“Uh, what?”

“Surely you saw her and Cosima kissing.”

“Oh, that.”

“Trust me, Aynsley, one doesn’t simply move on from Scott to another boy. It’s impossible. But Cosima, well she’s something else entirely. Let’s just say she helped me get over my heartache very well.” Delphine winks.

Aynsley looks at Cosima, who simply shrugs, then at Scott.

“I’m happy for you Delphine, truly. We ultimately weren’t right for one another, but you two seem really happy.”

“Thank you, Scott, I am very happy,” Delphine says as she takes Cosima’s hand, entwining their fingers.

“Wow, ok then,” Aynsley states as she wanders off confused.

“Delphine, I think we might get a mention in her blog,” Cosima laughs.

“Oh, that’s a certainty,” Alison states.

“Alison, Delphine, you were both awesome!” Scott exclaims.

“Thank you, Scott.”

“Merci.”

“Please, help yourselves to food, my mother put out a lovely spread in the dining room. I better make the rounds,” Alison says as she wanders off.

Beth and Scott head into the dining room.

“Look, Cosima, there’s Sarah,” Delphine points to Sarah Stubbs in the living room.

“Oh, I was watching Sarah closely during her solo, I kinda think she was looking at Scott as she sung and he seemed pretty impressed.”

“Have you come up with a plan?” Delphine asks.

“Have _I_ come up with a plan? Delphine, I thought _you_ were coming up with the plan?”

“What? No, no, no, I am not good with plans, you are.”

“I told you, just tell Sarah to kiss him.”

“Cosima, really? That won’t work, it’s too forward. Come up with something better.”

“Jeez, Mademoiselle Bossypants.”

“I’m sorry, Chérie, I didn’t mean to be bossy. I just really want to do this right.”

“Relax, I’m messing with you, of course I have a plan,” Cosima snickers.

“Cosima! You’re unbelievable. Tell me.”

“Not yet.”

“What? Why?”

“You gotta pay for the info.” Cosima puckers her lips.

“Really?” Delphine asks and Cosima nods. Delphine leans down and kisses Cosima. “Ok, now tell me.”

“I like this payment method, I think I’m gonna have to use it more often,” Cosima smirks.

“I’ll stop paying altogether if you don’t tell me right now,” Delphine says exasperated.

“Ok, ok, the way I see it, we’ve got two socially awkward individuals, at least when it comes to matters of the opposite sex. So we need to engineer a situation where it’s just the two of them, no distractions, no other people to focus on. Downstairs, Alison has a craft room that can be locked from the outside. I say you get Sarah in there, I’ll get Scotty in there, we get out and lock em in, crank up the music so nobody hears them cry for help and see what happens.”

“Didn’t I suggest putting them in a room together days ago?” Delphine asks.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t a fleshed out plan.” Delphine rolls her eyes. “Now, one other thing, no cellphones. I think I can pick Scotty’s pocket, can you get Sarah’s phone?”

“I’ll try,” Delphine offers.

They join the others in grabbing some food from the dining room. Alison’s mom makes a speech praising Alison’s performance and the contributions of the rest of the cast. She then brings out a large sheet cake with Alison’s head placed within a star. They cut up the cake and pass out pieces to the guests.

“Oh, look, I got Alison’s nose,” Cosima announces as she holds up her slice of cake.

“I’m eating her bangs,” Tony says through a mouthful. “It’s hairy good.”

Once they’ve finished eating, Cosima whispers to Delphine, “Ok, there’s Sarah, go talk to her and then lure her downstairs, I’ll get Scotty down there.”

Delphine nods and wanders towards Sarah Stubbs, while Cosima grabs Scott.

“Hey, Scotty, come with me for a sec.”

Scott follows Cosima downstairs and into the craft room.

“Why are we in here?” Scott asks.

“I feel like I should make Delphine something.”

“What?”

“Like something crafty.”

“Ok, um, maybe you should ask Alison for help with that.”

“No, she’s too critical and she’d probably end up doing it herself. What would be a nice gift I could make for Delphine?”

“Cosima, you never do craft projects, you must really be in deep.”

Cosima picks up a glue gun, “Come on, dude, give me advice or I’ll shoot. What would you make for a girl you liked?”

Scott hold up his hands in surrender. “Cosima, anything I made would be so bad the girl would run.”

“Come on, grab me some of those fuzzy pipe things.”

“Pipe cleaners, Cosima, they’re called pipe cleaners,” Scott shakes his head as he hands them over.

Meanwhile, upstairs Delphine is talking with Sarah Stubbs.

“Sarah, you were great tonight.”

“So were you, Delphine. I can’t believe you’ve never performed before.” Sarah exclaims. “Um, can I ask about what happened after the show, with you and Cosima? Are you two an item?”

“Oh, yeah. We’ve been spending a lot of time together and things just sort of evolved.”

“Well, that’s one way to get over a broken heart.”

“Yes, it is,” Delphine smiles. “Sarah, can you help me get some more plates and cups for Alison? She said they’re down in her craft room.”

“Sure, come on, I know the way,” Sarah says, leading Delphine downstairs.

They walk into the craft room to find Cosima and Scott hunched over a table full of colorful pipe cleaners. Cosima is holding and twisting a bunch of them.

“Cosima, what are you two doing in here?” Delphine asks innocently.

“Oh, hey, Delphine, we were just crafting. I made you something.” Cosima holds up a bracelet made of pipe cleaners in the shape of a double helix.

“Oh my goodness, you shouldn’t have. It’s gorgeous,” Delphine laughs as she slips it on her wrist.

“My pleasure. What brings you down here?” Cosima asks.

“Sarah and I came to get more plates and cups. Have you seen any?”

“Nope. Maybe they’re in one of those cabinets.” Cosima points to the back of the room.

Sarah puts her purse down and heads over to check them out, glancing shyly at Scott.

“Hey, Scotty, be a gentleman and help Sarah look for the supplies, I need to borrow Delphine,” Cosima says as she takes Delphine’s hand and leads her out of the room, with Delphine picking up Sarah’s purse on the way out.

Cosima closes the door behind them, the key is hanging out of the lock, so she turns it, pulls it out, and places it in her purse.

“Sarah’s phone is in here,” Delphine says displaying the pilfered purse. “Do you have Scott’s?”

“Oh yeah, I picked his pocket as soon as he bent over to pick up some pipe cleaners that I ‘accidentally’ dropped all over the floor,” Cosima smiles proudly and holds up her hand. Delphine gives her a high five.

“Come on, let’s go back upstairs. We’ll check on these two later,” Cosima says and she and Delphine head upstairs to rejoin the party. As soon as they get upstairs, Cosima cranks up the volume on the stereo, which is currently playing _The Music of the Night_ from Phantom of the Opera, earning her odd looks from Beth and Sarah.

Cosima shrugs, “Hey, I’m starting to appreciate this music, blame her.” She points to Delphine.

Back in the craft room, Scott is helping Sarah with her search. “Sorry, Sarah, I can’t find any plates or cups.”

“Yeah, me either,” she replies as she closes the last cupboard. “Where did Delphine go?” Sarah heads towards the door, reaches for the knob, but it won’t turn. She knocks, “Delphine, are you out there?”

No response.

“Um, I think we’re locked in,” Sarah announces.

“What? No way, let me try.” Scott tries turning the knob, but has the same result. He bangs on the door. “Cosima, where did you go? Open the door.”

No response.

“Where do you think they went?” Sarah asks.

“Who knows, they’re probably making out somewhere,” Scott responds.

“You’re ok with that? Your ex and your best friend?” Sarah inquires.

“Well, yeah, I mean just cause things didn’t work out for Delphine and I doesn’t mean I don’t want her to move on and find real love with someone else. And, like you said, Cosima is my best friend, her happiness is the most important thing to me. Not that they need it, but I’ve given them my blessing.”

“Wow, that’s really kind of you, I mean I know you were the one who ended things with her, but I don’t think most guys would be so comfortable with the situation,” Sarah observes.

Scott shrugs, “Guess I’m not like most guys. Let me try to call someone to come down and let us out.” He reaches for his back pocket, but his phone is missing. “That’s weird, I must have dropped my phone somewhere.”

“I’ll use mine,” Sarah says walking towards where she left her purse. “I could have sworn I put my purse down right here.”

“That is really strange. Well, eventually someone will have to come looking for us,” Scott remarks.

“I’m sorry you have to be stuck in here with me, I’m sure you’d rather be up there having fun with your friends,” Sarah says.

“I’m not really a big party person, to be honest, and I don’t feel like I’m stuck in here with you, we’re trapped together,” Scott smiles. “Hey, this gives me a chance to tell you how amazing you were in the musical.”

“Thanks,” Sarah responds shyly.

“You have a great voice and sing with so much emotion. I actually found myself rooting for Marius to choose Eponine after you sang _On My Own_.”

Sarah smiles at Scott’s praise.

Upstairs they’re playing Broadway Charades. Alison and Aynsley are super competitive and very into it, while the attention of some of the others is waning.

Sarah, Tony, Beth, Cosima, and Delphine sneak out into the backyard.

“Are Felix and Helena still in there?” Tony asks.

“Yeah, they like that nonsense,” Sarah responds.

“Dreads, you have any thing we can do?” Tony asks with a wink.

“Maybe,” she replies, reaching into her purse and pulling out a joint.

“Cosima! You’re carrying that around? We were just at school,” Delphine exclaims.

“Yeah and I was there to watch a musical, I didn’t know if I would need this to help me get through that experience,” Cosima smirks, earning a playful smack from Delphine. “Hey, but I didn’t need it. Turns out the Delphine induced haze was enough.” She leans forward giving Delphine a peck on the lips.

“Oh my god, you two, don’t even start,” Sarah yelps.

Tony grabs the joint, “Come on Cos, light her up.”

Cosima pulls out her lighter, lights it up and Tony takes the first hit, then hands it to Sarah, Beth passes.

“Of course Officer Girl Scout doesn’t want to partake,” Sarah smirks.

“Yeah, well, I’m driving tonight,” Beth defends. “I don’t need anything fucking me up, especially when I’m months away from joining the police academy.”

“Fine, fine, just don’t arrest us, officer,” Sarah says as she holds her hands up.

Cosima takes a hit next, followed by Delphine.

“Whoa, Blondie, I guess kissing isn’t all you’ve been doing with Cos,” Sarah exclaims at Delphine’s expert hit.

They continue passing the joint around.

Tony looks over at Cosima and Delphine who are nuzzling into one another. “Hey Cophine, don’t you wanna share the love, add a little Tony to the mix?”

“Cophine?” Beth laughs.

“Tony, you’re wasted,” Sarah says, pulling the joint from his hands.

“I think it’s cute,” Delphine says.

“See, she thinks I’m cute,” Tony smiles. “So is that a yes to the threesome?”

“No, um, don’t get me wrong, you are very cute, Tony, but I meant the name is cute, Cophine, for Cosima and Delphine,” Delphine smiles.

“What? No, you can’t like your own couple name thing, that’s disgusting, besides Cophine sounds like a drug,” Sarah says with contempt.

“Squish name, that’s what Ali calls those,” Beth corrects. “It is kinda sweet in a sickeningly sweet kinda way.”

“Hmm, Cophine,” Cosima drawls. “I like it. And I like you,” she declares, kissing Delphine.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Sarah says, making vomit noises.

“So is that a firm no on the threesome or is Brophine an option?” Tony asks as Cosima and Delphine continue kissing.

Suddenly, they are interrupted as The Imperial March blares from Cosima’s bag.

“Come on, geek monkey, really? Your ringtone is Darth Vader’s theme?” Sarah groans.

“No,” Cosima responds. “Oh shit.” She pulls the ringing phone out of her bag. “It’s Scott’s phone. Fuck, it’s his mom.”

“Hello,” Cosima says sweetly as she answers. “Hi, Mrs. Smith, this is Cosima. Scott had to use the bathroom, he left his phone with me… uh huh… uh huh… ok, I’ll tell him… nice talking to you, too…yeah, sure, sounds good, see you soon.”

Cosima ends the call and looks up at Delphine, “Scott has to be home in,” she glances at the time on the phone, “twenty minutes.”

“Why do you have Scott’s phone? Where is he?” Beth asks.

“Oh, he just didn’t want to carry it around, asked me to hold it in my purse. He’s around here somewhere, we better go find him.” Cosima stands, then pulls Delphine up.

They make their way through the house and down into the basement. “Ok, act natural, we found the phone ringing on a table in the dining room. Tell Sarah you found her purse on the couch,” Cosima advises.

Cosima unlocks the door and opens it, “Hey Scott, you in here?”

“Yeah, Cosima, where have you been? We got locked in.”

“Upstairs. Uh, what’s going on in here?” She asks looking at the scene unfolding.

“Scott was just teaching me to play chess, we found this old set in one of the cabinets,” Sarah responds.

“Sarah is a quick learner, we’re in the middle of a game,” Scott adds.

“Oh, well, I don’t want to interrupt but you left your phone in the dining room, your mom called, said you have to be home in twenty minutes.” Cosima hands him the phone.

“Oh, wow, I didn’t realize it was so late, ok, we can just finish this game and then I’ll go.”

“Sarah,” Delphine says, “is this your purse? It was on the couch upstairs.”

“Yes, I was wondering what happened to that, thank you,” Sarah says as she takes it from Delphine before returning to stare at the chess board intently.

“O-kay,” Cosima announces, “well, we will just be going then. Enjoy the rest of your game, have a goodnight, and we will leave the door open so you won’t get locked in again.”

Cosima and Delphine leave the room. Delphine leans into Cosima and whispers, “So that was cute, they’re playing a game.”

“Yeah, looks like Scotty recruited a new chess nerd. Good for him. But I couldn’t tell if it was just a buddy thing with them or what.”

“Hmm, well you’re my buddy and you taught me how to play games and look at us now,” Delphine smiles.

“True, very true,” Cosima agrees. “So does my buddy want to give me a kiss?”

“Your buddy always wants to give you a kiss,” Delphine responds, leaning in and capturing Cosima’s lips with her own. They head back to their friends, Beth is ready to go, so they say their goodbyes and head out.

“Check mate!” Sarah loudly announces in the craft room.

“Oh, wow, good job, Sarah,” Scott smiles.

“Did you let me win?” she asks.

“No way, you beat me fair and square,” Scott responds, with his fingers crossed behind his back.

“So this was really fun. If I had to be locked in a craft room, I’m glad I was locked in with you,” Sarah smiles.

“Yeah, totally,” Scott agrees. “So, um, would you like to play again? We have a group that meets after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Now that you’re done with rehearsals, maybe you’d want to join.”

“I’d like that,” Sarah nods.

“Great! Well, I better get home. Do you need a ride or anything?”

“No, thank you, I actually live just 4 doors down.”

“Oh, cool, ok then. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Scott.”

They give each other an awkward hug and then Scott leaves. As soon as he’s safely gone, Sarah jumps up and down, shrieking, “Oh my god, oh my god!”

Later that night, Cosima’s cellphone buzzes. She reaches over to her nightstand and grabs the phone and her glasses. She sees that she has a text from Scott.

“Hey, Delphine,” she whispers, gently tapping the sleeping blonde on her shoulder.

“Hmmm?” Delphine responds groggily, not even opening her eyes.

“Read this text.”

“Read it to me.”

“Ok, Sleeping Beauty,” Cosima smiles. “ _Thanks for accidentally locking me in the craft room. Sarah is great and she’s gonna join my chess club. I think she kinda digs me! You and Delphine aren’t very subtle, but I appreciate the matchmaking._ ”

Delphine’s eyes shoot open as she squeals with excitement, launching herself into Cosima’s arms.

“Score one for Cophine,” Cosima says as Delphine places kisses all over her face.

“Sarott, Sartt, Stith. Cosima, they don’t have a cute squishy name,” Delphine frowns, running through the options.

“Squish,” Cosima corrects. “It’s fine, they don’t need one. Let’s give them time to actually become a couple anyway.”

“You’re right,” Delphine agrees as she lies back down on her pillow.

They lay in silence, Cosima’s eyes close as she starts to drift.

“Scorah!” Delphine suddenly announces.

“Go to sleep, Delphine."


	20. Double Down

It’s been two weeks since the musical. Cosima attended all three nights of performances just in case Delphine had any more panic attacks and needed her. And also because she was completely enchanted by watching Delphine on that stage. Happily, Delphine got through the rest of the performances just fine.

Since publicly coming out as a couple, Cosima and Delphine haven’t been shy about showing their affection at school. They’ve gotten a few salacious comments and raised eyebrows, but, for the most part, everyone has been really cool and supportive. They typically keep their PDA to the halls and lunchroom and out of the classroom, but Chemistry is the exception to the rule. Whenever Dr. Leekie stops by their station, Cosima can’t seem to stop herself from touching and kissing Delphine while shooting death glares at their teacher that clearly shout stay the fuck away from my girlfriend.

Delphine and Cosima are more demonstrative in front of Cosima’s parents now, too. Which is why on this night, as the four of them are sitting in the living room watching Die Hard, a Niehaus family favorite, Don in the lazy boy and Nancy on the chaise, Cosima is comfortably sprawled out on the couch with her head on Delphine’s lap. Delphine is completely engrossed in the movie, her eyes stare unblinking at the action, while her right hand strokes the fine baby hairs on Cosima’s forehead and her left is knuckles deep in the bowl of popcorn balancing on Cosima’s stomach.

They reach the climax of the movie, the final showdown between McClane and Hans. Delphine has gone from gnawing on the popcorn, to gnawing on her bottom lip. Just as McClane shoots Hans, a large rock crashes through the living room window. Delphine screams and Cosima jumps, causing the remaining popcorn to go flying.

Delphine leaps to her feet, grabbing Cosima and placing her own body between Cosima and the window.

“Stay back,” Don instructs the girls as he grabs the phone and dials 911.

“Who the fuck would attack us like that?” Cosima yells.

“Cosima!” a voice booms through a megaphone from the street.

“Who is that?” Delphine asks anxiously.

“Cosima, come out, come out wherever you are,” the voice taunts.

“Holy shit, that sounds like-” Cosima slowly approaches the window, Delphine trying to hold her back. “Bobby?” Cosima shouts out the window. “Bobby, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“You think you can reject me for some French bimbo and I would just let you walk away?” Bobby shouts. “Come out here or I will burn your house down with you and that whore in it.” Bobby raises a fiery molotov cocktail over her head.

“You are crazy!” Cosima hollers.

“Crazy, that’s what they call me,” Bobby sings into the megaphone. “Walk along the razor’s edge into black and back again. Crazy, that’s what they tell me. No one’s heard a word I’ve said. You’ve got me hanging by a thread. Cause I’m craaaaazy.”

“Oh my god!” Cosima exclaims. “This is nuts.”

“You know that girl, Cosima?” Nancy asks.

“I kinda dated her over the summer,” Cosima admits, “and, well, she wanted to get back together, but I told her that I was crazy about Delphine and now she’s out there, well, going crazy.”

“Damn, Kiddo,” Don says in awe.

“Don, please, this is not the time,” Nancy admonishes.

More rocks come sailing through the window, one hitting Nancy in the leg.

“Mom, are you ok?”

“Yes, Cosima, please stay back.” Nancy yells.

“She called me a bimbo and a whore, she doesn’t even know me. She thinks she can come here and attack you and your family and you’ll what, take her back? I won’t let her get away with this.”

“Delphine, calm down, the police will be here soon,” Cosima pleads.

“No, Cosima, it could be too late by the time they arrive.” Delphine heads to the hall closet and pulls out Don’s automatic tennis ball machine. She rolls it over to the window, plugs it in, cranks the launch speed up to 80 mph, aims, and starts pelting tennis balls at Bobby. After a few misses, Delphine’s accuracy improves and she starts nailing Bobby with balls, finally landing one square in her head, knocking Bobby out just as the police and fire department arrive.

Cosima rushes into Delphine’s arms. “Delphine, that was unbelievable!”

“I couldn’t let her hurt you,” Delphine replies as Cosima wraps her arms around her neck, stands on her tippy toes, and kisses her deeply.

“Hey, Delphine. Delphine,” Cosima repeats a little louder.

Delphine opens her eyes, Cosima is standing over her. “Hey, you fell asleep during the movie, I didn’t want to wake you, but figured you’d probably rather be in bed than on the couch, especially when you started making those kissy faces."

“Kissy faces?”

“Yeah,” Cosima mimics the action.

“Merde! I was dreaming. It felt so real.”

“Oh yeah, were you kissing me in the dream? If so, tell me more,” Cosima smiles.

“Yes, actually, brat, I was kissing you. That was the strangest dream.”

“Was the kissing strange?”

“No, the kissing was nice,” Delphine smiles, “the rest was insane.”

“What happened?” Cosima asks.

“Well, we were watching Die Hard when suddenly a rock came crashing through the window. She was yelling and threatening all of us with a bottle that was on fire.”

“She?”

“Bobby,” Delphine replies with a hint of embarrassment.

“Bobby? Ok, this is getting more interesting, go on.”

“She wanted you back, she said some really nasty things about me, and she was going to set the house on fire if you didn’t go to her. Then she started singing some crazy song. She actually had a really nice singing voice.”

“Delphine, get back on track. What happened next?”

“Well, I couldn’t let her hurt you and your family, so I grabbed your dad’s tennis ball machine -”

“My dad doesn’t have one of those, he doesn’t even play tennis.”

“Cosima, it was a dream, ok, in the dream he had one. Anyway, I aimed it out the window and just started pounding her with balls until I knocked her out.”

“More ball violence, Delphine? This is a disturbing trend.”

“Hey, I saved you!”

“My hero!” Cosima smiles. “Ok, so where’d the kissing come in?”

“Let’s just say you were very appreciative of my valor.”

“I bet,” Cosima grins.

“It all felt so real. I was terrified, not of Bobby, but of losing you,” Delphine starts to tear up.

“Delphine, it was a dream, you’re not losing me, not ever.” She kisses Delphine’s forehead. “And Bobby is not a violent person, besides the time she snapped a towel at Felix for trying to steal a beer. Which he still hasn’t gotten over, by the way. I think this is the last time we do a Fatal Attraction/Die Hard double feature. Maybe Cormier was the wrong choice of last name for you, you seem more and more like a McClane every day.”

“Yippee Ki-Yay!”

“Come on, tough guy, it’s time for bed,” Cosima pulls Delphine off the couch and leads her upstairs.

The next morning, Cosima wakes up wrapped in Delphine’s arms. “Have I told you how nice it is to wake up with you?”

“Yes, every morning for the last two weeks,” Delphine grins.

“I am soooo happy you moved your tutoring sessions after school. I like waking up with you and driving to school together.”

“Cosima, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

Cosima sits up, alarmed. “What is it?”

“About the driving together thing, um, well, do you think I can drive us to school today?”

“You want to drive?”

“Yes, and this has nothing to do with your driving skills, which have greatly improved, it’s just, I’m 17, I should be able to drive.”

“But you don’t have a license,” Cosima reminds.

“About that,” Delphine turns, reaching into her satchel on the floor and pulling out a card, she hands it to Cosima.

“Delphine, where did you get this?” Cosima asks as she examines Delphine’s driver’s license.

“I know a guy who knows a guy.”

“Oh my god, Delphine, did you ask Ramon for a fake license?”

“Maybe,” she smiles. “I mean there was no legal way for me to get one, I don’t have a birth certificate, I still haven’t figured out who I am, and I haven’t received a response on that website. I just want to be like every other teenager. So, what do you say?” She looks at Cosima with wide, innocent eyes. “Baby, can I drive your car?”

“How can I say no with you looking at me like that?”

“You can’t,” Delphine smiles as she hurries to shower and get dressed.

“Ok, so it’s pretty straight forward, turn on the car, put it in drive, step on the gas and just steer. When you need to stop, step on the brake,” Cosima instructs once they’re in the car.

“Cosima, thank goodness you don’t teach driver’s ed. I think I can do this,” Delphine says as she shifts the car into gear and speeds off.

Fifteen minutes later, Delphine pulls into a parking spot at school. She looks over at Cosima, “So, how was that?”

“Holy shit, Delphine, you’re an excellent driver!”

“Thanks!”

“Alright, you can drive us to school from now on and home whenever you’re not tutoring and any other time we go out.”

“So I'm your chauffeur now?” Delphine asks.

“Hell yeah! I’m gonna get you one of those cute little hats.”

Delphine laughs as they head into school.

—————

Later that day, Scott comes over to Cosima’s after chess club to hang out while Delphine has a double tutoring session at school. In the last couple weeks, she suddenly has more students, male and female, needing help with French.

“Scott, what’s up with you and Sarah? It’s been two weeks, why haven’t you asked her out yet?” Cosima asks as they lay on her bedroom floor reading comic books.

“I don’t know, I mean we’ve been getting along great at chess club, but I’m just worried that I’ll screw it up if I take her out. You know I don’t have any dating experience, what if I make a fool of myself?”

“Dude, relax, first dates are always awkward, but she likes you and you like her and you’ll take it from there.”

“Hey,” Scott says, suddenly notices the clothing hanging in Cosima’s closet, “why are Delphine’s clothes in there? The guest room has lots of closet space.”

“Oh, she’s not using the guest room anymore,” Cosima remarks casually.

“What? How long has she not been using the guest room?”

“Since the weekend of my birthday.”

“Cosima, you and Delphine have been sleeping together all this time?”

“Whoa, whoa. Yes, we’ve been sleeping together, but not _sleeping_ together.”

“You expect me to believe you’re just sleeping? You two can hardly keep your hands off each other.”

“Look, we don’t just sleep, I mean there’s lots of kissing and cuddling, but we haven’t taken it beyond that.”

“Why not?”

“Scott, we’re in my parents house. They are letting her share my room on our word, well Delphine’s word, that nothing like that is going on.”

“Like that would stop you. Cosima, come on, be straight with me, why haven’t you, you know?”

“Well, it’s not like I haven’t thought about it, a lot, but I’m not gonna try anything unless Delphine is comfortable and ready. I don’t want to mess this up, so taking things slow and steady is fine with me. Anyway, dude, nice way to change the subject, we were talking about your love life, not mine. Just ask her out already. If it makes you more comfortable, we can double date.”

“Yeah? You’d do that?”

“Of course.”

“And Delphine would be ok with it?”

“Are you kidding? She’s been waiting for you to ask Sarah out for weeks, she’ll be ecstatic. Let’s do it tomorrow night.”

“Ok, where would we go? Pins?”

“No, definitely not Pins. If Bobby happens to be there, Delphine is liable to murder her. How about we do pizza and a movie?”

“That works.”

“Cool, you have her number, right? Call her now and ask her out,” Cosima implores.

“Can I text her? I feel like I’ll screw it up if I have to speak.”

“Whatever, just do it.”

Scott pulls out his cell and composes a text:  
_Hi Sarah, this is Scott. I was wondering if you’d like to go to pizza and a movie tomorrow night with Delphine, Cosima, and I. Let me know._  
He presses send.

“Nice, you did it, I’m proud of you,” Cosima says, giving his shoulder a little slug.

His phone beeps shortly after. He checks the message:  
_Are you crazy? #1 I don’t want to double date with those two slobbering all over each other and #2 I already have a boyfriend, you wanker._

“She has a boyfriend, Cosima. Great, now look what you made me do, I feel like an idiot,” Scott groans.

“She does? This makes no sense. And did she really say that about Delphine and I? Hold up, she called you a wanker? Give me your phone.” Scott hands it over and Cosima looks at the message. “Dumbass, you texted Sarah Manning, not Sarah Stubbs.”

“What? Oh shit, I was so nervous I just selected the first Sarah in my contacts.”

Cosima texts her back:  
_Sarah, this is Cos. #1 you suck and #2 Scott has zero interest in taking you on a date, bitch._

A response comes quickly:  
_I knew he texted me by mistake, bitch. Alison has messaged me about wardrobe and doilies and crap so many times instead of Stubbs, I’m used to it by now. But I still wouldn’t double date with you and Blondie._

Cosima replies: _Love you, too._

“Ok, Scotty, just copy that first message and send it to the right Sarah this time.” She hands him back his phone.

He copies and pastes the message, then checks and double checks that it’ll go to the right Sarah, before pressing send. They wait, staring at the phone, willing a response.

After what feels like hours, but is really only a minute or so, the phone beeps. Scott tentatively picks it up and reads the message:  
_I’d love to :)_

“I’d love to, she said I’d love to,” Scott yells, jumping to his feet.

Cosima jumps up and hugs him, “You did it, congrats, man!”

Just then the door opens, “What’s going on in here?” Delphine asks, witnessing the hugging and shrieking.

“We’re going on a date with Scott and Sarah!” Cosima shouts.

Delphine rushes towards them with a huge smile on her face and joins their hug circle, the three of them jumping up and down like little kids.

“Ok, tell her we’ll pick her up at 7 tomorrow night, we’ll come get you first,” Cosima instructs.

Scott sends the text. “Alright, I gotta jet. See you tomorrow,” Scott says with a grin as he heads out.

Delphine turns to Cosima with a thousand watt smile, “Finally! Scott and Sarah. Wait, what do you mean we’re going on a date with them?”

“Scott was nervous about taking her out, so I said we’d go with them. Is that ok? I kinda just assumed you’d be cool with it.”

“Yes, I’m very cool with that, that was actually very sweet of you.”

“What can I say, I’m a sweet girl.”

“Yes, you are. Very sweet,” Delphine responds, leaning in and kissing her.

“Oh god, Delphine, do we slobber all over each other?” Cosima asks, breaking away.

“What?” Delphine asks, her lips still puckered.

“Never mind, I don’t care,” Cosima decides, capturing Delphine’s lips once more.

The next night, Cosima and Delphine pick Scott up for their double date. Scott hops in the back seat and is surprised by who is behind the wheel.

“Wow, Delphine, why are you driving? Do you even know how?”

“Dude, of course she knows how, she’s great. She’s got her license now and everything,” Cosima states.

“Um, ok,” he responds, confused as to how that’s even possible. “Sarah lives on Alison’s block, 27 Black Oak Drive.”

“I remember the way,” Delphine says as she starts driving in that direction.

“How you feeling about tonight, Scotty?”

“I’m a little nervous, but it helps having you two here.”

“Just relax and be yourself,” Cosima advises. “Oh and pay for everything for her, you asked her out, so it’s the polite thing to do.”

“I know that, Cosima,” Scott responds with an eye roll.

“Ok, ok, just making sure.”

They pull up to Sarah’s house at exactly 7 o’clock, Delphine extremely proud of her own promptness. She honks the horn and Sarah immediately rushes out of the house.

“Scotty, get out and open the door for her,” Cosima instructs.

He does as she says, hurrying around to the the other side of the car and opening the door.

“Thank you, Scott,” Sarah says with a smile as she gets in and greets Cosima and Delphine.

They arrive at the theater 17 minutes later.

“Ok, so what kind of movie is everyone in the mood for?” Cosima asks.

All at once, Scott says action, Sarah says comedy, and Delphine says romance.

“Great, looks like I’m the tiebreaker then,” Cosima says. “Sorry, Scott, but we watched Die Hard last night, so action is out.” She then looks over at Delphine and Sarah, debating internally. “Hmmm, ok, I’m going to have to go with comedy.”

“Yay!” Sarah squeals with delight as they get in line for tickets.

Delphine holds Cosima back, “Really, Cosima?”

“Hey, we want to make this night special for them, right? So let’s give Sarah this. Besides, if you want romance, I’ll give you romance,” Cosima winks.

“Ok, comedy it is,” Delphine smiles. “But I’m gonna hold you to that promise of romance.”

They choose the 7:30 showing of the new Will Ferrell movie, Scott buys tickets for he and Sarah, while Cosima does the same for her and Delphine. Scott and Cosima head to the concession stand, while Delphine and Sarah go grab seats. Scott buys two medium sodas and two medium popcorns, and Cosima buys one large soda and one large popcorn. She lathers the popcorn in butter, then puts two straws into the soda.

They find their dates near the back of the theater. Scott hands Sarah her popcorn and soda. Cosima sits down and places the soda in the cupholder between her and Delphine, then rests the popcorn bucket on her right leg. Delphine takes a sip of soda, before reaching over and grabbing some popcorn. After seemingly endless trailers, the movie starts. It is actually pretty funny and they all laugh hard, especially Sarah. Cosima and Delphine’s hands find and play with one another in the popcorn bucket, while Cosima also finds ample opportunity to nuzzle and kiss Delphine throughout the film.

The four of them leave the theater chuckling and reciting their favorite lines from the film. “Seeing a comedy was a good choice, Sarah,” Delphine concedes.

They walk towards a nearby pizzeria. Scott and Sarah lead the way, walking close, but keeping a respectable distance, while Cosima and Delphine hold hands and follow behind. “Do you think it’s working out with them, they’re not holding hands? We were holding hands right away,” Delphine whispers.

Cosima giggles, “Well, they’re not officially a couple, this is just their first date and they’re both kind of nervous, so it’s not unusual that they’re not holding hands or anything yet. We went from like 0 to 60 in .5 seconds. Besides, you’re French, so you’re naturally more touchy feely.”

“Oh, is that right? Being touchy feely, as you put it, is a French thing?”

“Well, I don’t actually know any other French people, so maybe it’s just a Delphine thing, but I like, I really, really like.” They start kissing again as they reach the pizzeria.

“Wow, okay, so we’ll just go grab a table then,” Scott says, holding the door open for Sarah as Cosima and Delphine nod without breaking contact.

Sarah and Scott slide into a booth, sitting side by side. “So they really do make out all the time, don’t they?” Sarah observes.

Scott laughs, “Yeah.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said it doesn’t bother you. I don’t have any exes, but I think it would make me uncomfortable seeing that,” Sarah says.

“I don’t, um, actually have any exes either,” Scott admits.

“What do you mean? You and Delphine dated.”

“Yeah, about that, Delphine and I were never really a couple.” Sarah’s eyes go wide. “She just felt bad for me after I was rejected by Charity and then Chad made fun of me, so she thought it would help my reputation or whatever if everyone thought I was dating her. She’d hold my hand and do little things here and there at school for show, but we weren’t actually an item. We never, like, kissed or anything, so seeing them go at it like that doesn’t bother me at all. I was never interested in Delphine in a romantic way.”

“Really? But she’s so beautiful.”

“Yes, she is, but with her and I, it’s only ever been friendship. The two of them though,” he points to the girls out the window, “they’re made for each other. So anyway, I’m sorry that I lied about all that, it’s just kind of embarrassing to admit.”

“Wow, well this whole thing makes a lot more sense now. I was wondering how she got over you so fast. I appreciate you trusting me enough to tell me the truth. And you don’t have to be embarrassed, especially with me, I’ve been teased plenty so I understand. You’re really lucky to have such great friends.”

“Yeah, I am.”

Just then, Cosima and Delphine finally arrive at the table.

“Sorry about that,” Cosima says as they sit down, “Delphine had some popcorn stuck in her teeth that she needed my help getting out.”

“Cosima!” Delphine shrieks. “She’s kidding.”

They order a large pepperoni pizza and 4 cokes. As they eat, they discuss the movie some more, as well as current tv shows they’re into to. Turns out Sarah and Scott are both fans of the same shows. They laugh a lot and at one point Sarah wipes some pizza sauce off Scott’s nose. As the night comes to a close, Delphine drives them home, stopping at Sarah’s house first. Scott walks her to the front door.

“I had a really good time tonight, Sarah.”

“Yeah, me too. Thank you, Scott.”

“Um, would you like to maybe do this again sometime? Just the two of us?” Scott asks nervously.

“Yes, definitely,” Sarah responds giddily.

Scott smiles, “Ok, awesome, I’ll call you. Goodnight, Sarah.”

“Goodnight, Scott.”

He gives her a quick peck on the cheek and a hug.

Back in the car, Cosima and Delphine are smiling from ear to ear. “Look at them, Cosima, they’re so cute.”

Scott returns to the car. “Soooo?” Cosima asks.

“We’re gonna go out again,” Scott says with a grin, “alone.”

“Woo hoo, way to go, Scotty boy!” Cosima gives him a high five.

“I’m so happy for you, Scott,” Delphine adds.

“Thanks, both of you, for tagging along tonight and for that whole craft room thing.”

“Anytime, dude, we’re always up for double dates or locking people in rooms together.”

They drop Scott off and he goes skipping up to his door, grin still plastered on his face.

“Tonight went really well,” Delphine says once they’re back home in Cosima’s room.

“Yeah. You know, if this whole science thing doesn’t work out, maybe we should go into matchmaking,” Cosima suggests.

“Isn’t matchmaking inherently scientific, though?”

“Yeah, I guess it is, Dr. Cormier.”

“Doctor?”

“Someday you will be. Hey, maybe when we have our Ph.Ds we can start a dating service, The Chemistry Clinic by Drs. Niehaus and Cormier.”

“Drs. Niehaus and Cormier? I think Drs. Cormier and Niehaus has a better ring to it.”

Cosima laughs, “Yeah, sure it does. Ok, whatever you want.”

“You think that’s really a possibility?” Delphine asks.

“Yeah, I mean if we wanted to we could start a dating service.”

“No, I mean me being a doctor. I don’t see it happening.”

“Hey, weren’t you the girl telling Gram you wanted to study immunology? Where did she go?”

“She’s still here, it’s just, I don’t know, I’m the girl without a past, no knowledge of who I really am. College? A Ph.D.? It just doesn’t seem possible.”

“Hey, if there’s one thing recent events have taught me, it’s that anything is possible,” Cosima says reassuringly, not just for Delphine, but for herself. She knows it may be a long shot, but she doesn’t want Delphine to lose hope. “Ok?”

“Ok,” Delphine nods as she kicks off the heels she’s been wearing. “Have you seen those slippers you gave me?”

“Hmm, no, maybe they’re under the bed.”

Delphine crouches down and peeks under the bed, “Yes, here they are! Hey, what’s this?”

“What’s what?” Cosima says turning to look at Delphine who’s holding the science Barbie box. Cosima starts to panic, she totally forgot she threw that under the bed. She reaches for the box, “Oh, that, um, how did that get under there?”

Delphine pulls it away before Cosima can snatch it. “What’s it from?” She reads the front of the box, “Science Barbie?”

“Yeah, um, it was a present I got on my 8th birthday.”

“Where is it?”

“Where’s what?”

“The doll, Cosima. The box is empty.”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen that doll in a really long time,” she lies.

“I wouldn’t have pictured you as a big fan of dolls. Science Barbie, though, huh? I guess you really have been into science a long time.”

“Yup, always into science, so I always got a lot of science gifts.”

“Cute, well too bad she’s not in here, I would have loved to see this Barbie of yours.”

“Yeah, yeah, too bad,” Cosima responds, her heart pounding.

“There’s something familiar about this,” Delphine muses.

“Uh, about the box?” Cosima asks, her heart now in her throat.

“Yeah,” she examines the box, “maybe I had a Barbie doll growing up, too.”

“Yeah, um, you probably did.” Cosima takes the box from Delphine and puts it in the back of her closet where she had pulled it from on that fateful night. She takes a deep breath before turning back around towards Delphine. “So, about our matchmaking business,” Cosima changes the subject, “got anyone else at school you want to practice our talents on?”

“I may have a few, we’ll see,” Delphine smiles. “But right now I want you to keep the promise you made to me earlier.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, the promise of romance,” Delphine reminds.

“Oh, is that why you put on the fuzzy slippers?”

“Oui, I know how much you love me in them,” Delphine smirks.

“I do, they’re totes adorable on you. As for the romance, I have big plans.”

“Oh yeah, what are these big plans?”

“Now that’s a surprise.”

“A surprise?”

“Yeah, like something that happens unexpectedly.”

“Cosima,” Delphine shakes her head, “I know what surprise means. Tell me what your surprise is.”

“Um, Delphine, that would kinda sorta totally ruin the surprise.”

“Can’t you just give me a hint?” Delphine pleads, giving Cosima her usual puppy dog eyes.

“Oh my god, fine, fine, I’ll give you a hint.” Delphine’s face lights up waiting for Cosima to proceed. “Ok, well you know how next week is Spring Break?” Delphine nods. “My Dad has business meetings down in Los Angeles and he’s taking the family with him.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say?”

“Oh, you’re going to Los Angeles.”

“No, Delphine, _we_ are going to Los Angeles. You and me. And well my parents, too. Come on, don’t you know by now that they consider you part of the family? And yeah, maybe not exactly like a daughter, cause, uh, under the circumstances that would be a little creepy, so it’s more like a daughter-in-law type thing at this point, but family nonetheless.”

Delphine starts to tear up. “We’re going to Los Angeles?”

“Yup.”

“And what will we do there?”

“I may have planned some things.”

“So, this romantic stuff you have planned, does it involve your parents, too?”

“Yuck, no, we’ll be doing the romantic stuff on our own. But I’m not telling you anything else, so stop asking. And don’t give me any more of those looks of yours.”

“Ok,” Delphine concedes, “but I was kind of expecting some romance tonight, and I did put on my best fuzzy slippers, so what do you say you put on your Yoda slippers and we sneak downstairs for some ice cream?”

“Mmm, Dr. Cormier, the sound of that I like,” Cosima responds in her best Yoda voice.

Cosima hops in her slippers and they rush downstairs as fast and quietly as they can. They then proceed to spend the next hour and a half giggling as they eat all the eskimo pies in the freezer, cleaning every last stray drop off one another’s faces with lips and tongues.


	21. The Heat Is On

It’s 5am on Saturday, the first day of spring break, and Cosima is sound asleep.

“Cosima, Cosima, wake up,” Delphine says, shaking Cosima gently.

“Leave me alone,” Cosima grumbles.

“Cosima, get up,” Delphine persists, now shaking her less gently.

“What is it?” Cosima grumpily asks, eyes still shut.

“We’re hitting the road in an hour for Los Angeles.”

“Hitting the road? You’ve been listening to my dad way too much. Please, just let me sleep a little longer.”

“No, Cosima, you need to get showered and dressed.”

“What time is it?”

“5am.”

“5? Are you kidding me?”

“It’s a long drive.”

“Remind me again why we’re not flying?”

“Cosima, your parents said they want one last road trip with you before you leave for college. Come on, just do this for them.”

“Fine, fine.” Cosima slowly gets out of bed, grabbing her clothes before heading to the bathroom to shower. “The Delphine in my dreams lets me sleep in,” she mumbles as she leaves the room.

Delphine shakes her head, then proceeds to make the bed and tidy the room.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, Cosima gets in the back of the waiting car.

“Nice of you to join us, Kiddo,” Don says as he puts the car in drive.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re lucky I’m here at all.”

“Cosima,” Delphine whispers, nudging Cosima.

“Sorry, what I meant to say is, I’m so excited for our drive to L.A.”

Don and Nancy just laugh, while Delphine smiles at Cosima and pats her knee.

20 minutes into their trip and Cosima’s head has lolled onto Delphine’s shoulder, a faint snore emanating from her mouth. Delphine places a light kiss to Cosima’s forehead before shifting her gaze out the window. The sun has started to rise as they drive along the Pacific Coast Highway and Delphine is captivated by the view of the ocean along the bluffs. Nancy glances to the back seat, taking in the peaceful sight with a grin.

At just after 11am, Cosima opens her eyes. “I’m hungry,” she announces.

“That’s the first thing you have to say when you wake up?” Don laughs.

“Hey, the stomach wants what it wants when it wants.”

“We were actually just discussing pulling off into town to stretch and grab a bite,” Nancy responds.

“Perfect, I could use a good stretch, too,” Cosima announces.

“Oh yeah? _You_ need to stretch after sleeping on Delphine?” Don asks. “She should be the one itching to stretch, she hasn’t been able to move for the last five hours.”

Delphine giggles and Cosima looks up at her sheepishly, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s ok, I didn’t mind.”

Cosima kisses Delphine’s shoulder, “So whatcha been doing?”

“Enjoying the view,” Delphine replies and Cosima smiles. “Of the ocean, Cosima.”

“Oh, yeah, I totes knew what you meant,” Cosima smirks. “My dad always likes to take the scenic route along the coast. It’s slower, but hella nice.”

“You’ve stayed awake to see it?”

“Yes, I’ve stayed awake,” Cosima sticks out her tongue. “Besides, I’ve never had such a comfy pillow before.”

“I’m happy to be of service.”

Don parks the car and they all get out. Cosima starts stretching wildly and they all just stare and laugh at her antics before heading into Denny’s.

Four grand slam breakfasts later and they’re ready to continue their drive. This time Cosima manages to stay awake and take in the sights along with Delphine. To pass the time, the four of them play Going on a Picnic and Delphine proves to be a quick learner, per usual, and masters the memory game.

It’s 4pm when they finally arrive at their beachfront hotel in Santa Monica. They check in and head up to their rooms. Don and Nancy tell the girls to meet them downstairs in the lobby at 7 for dinner. Cosima and Delphine drag their luggage into their room and start unpacking.

“I need a nap,” Cosima announces after shoving her clothing in the drawers.

“Of course you do,” Delphine laughs.

Cosima lays down on the bed next to where Delphine is sitting. “Um, Cosima, this is my bed, yours is right there,” she points to the adjacent double bed.

“Seriously?”

“Oui. There are two beds in here for a reason. We obviously were meant to sleep separately on this trip.”

Cosima huffs over onto the other bed and lays there, staring at Delphine, who finishes putting everything away and then lies down on her bed. She notices Cosima looking at her, “I thought you needed a nap?”

Cosima frowns, “I do, but I can’t sleep without my favorite pillow.”

“I think you’ll manage,” Delphine says before closing her eyes.

Cosima makes agitated noises as she tosses and turns. Finally, Delphine opens her eyes and laughs at the scene.

“What’s so funny?” Cosima grouses with furrowed brow.

“You, Chérie. Of course you can sleep here, I was just kidding,” she pats the empty space next to her.

“Nah, I think I’m gonna stay here,” Cosima responds as she turns her back to Delphine.

“Cosima,” Delphine calls out incredulously, but gets no response. “Cosima, come on.” Cosima stays silent and unmoving. Delphine gets up and moves to the other bed, sitting behind Cosima and rubbing her arm. “Are you really mad at me?”

Suddenly, Cosima turns, practically rolling on top of Delphine. She kisses her quickly on the lips before laying down again and wrapping her arms around Delphine. “Ha, now I got you in my bed.”

“So, I take it you’re not angry?” Delphine laughs.

“I knew you were joking.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, you can’t stay away from all of this.”

Delphine snorts out a laugh before snuggling up to Cosima and closing her eyes, “You’re right.”

A ringing phone on the nightstand next to her head startles Delphine out of her slumber. She picks up the receiver, “Allô… Oh mon dieu, I’m so sorry, we’ll be right down.” She hangs up the phone. “Cosima, get up, it’s 7:15, your parents are waiting for us in the lobby.”

“A.M.?”

“No P.M., come on, we’re late for dinner.” Delphine gets off the bed, pulling Cosima up with her. They fix themselves up, then head downstairs to the lobby where Don and Nancy are sitting. “Sorry, we were taking a nap, we should have set an alarm,” Delphine apologizes.

“Don’t worry, our reservation is at 7:30 in the hotel restaurant, we knew Cosima wouldn’t be ready on-time,” Nancy says.

“Hey!” Cosima yelps. “Neither was Delphine.”

“Yes, but I’m sure that’s your influence,” Nancy retorts.

They proceed into the restaurant. Over dinner, Don and Nancy ask the girls what they have planned for the week. Cosima unwilling to reveal anything specific, just says she is going to show Delphine around town.

After dinner, they retreat back to their rooms. The girls, not tired as a result of their earlier nap, watch several pay-per-view movies until they fall asleep.

At 11am the next morning, Cosima opens her eyes and glances up to find Delphine looking at her. “Good morning, you been up long?”

“Bonjour, no not very, just waiting for you to wake up,” Delphine leans down and places a light kiss on Cosima’s forehead. “And, now that you are, tell me what we’re doing today.”

“Ok, Miss Patience. Today I thought we would take advantage of the warm weather and spend the day at the beach.”

“Mmm, the beach sounds good, but I don’t have a bathing suit.”

“We’ll pick one up. I bet the shop in the lobby sells them.”

They dress and head to the breakfast buffet, afterwards, they wander into the hotel’s boutique. Delphine browses through the swimsuits, picking out a black and white bikini, and goes to try it on. “Cosima, how does this look?” Delphine asks, emerging from the dressing room.

Cosima’s mouth falls open at the sight of Delphine in a bikini, unable to form words as she looks her up and down.

Delphine looks at her girlfriend’s face, then turns to the salesgirl, “I’ll take it.”

They go back up to their room where Cosima puts on a tankini, then she grabs some sunscreen, slathering it all over, “Del, can you get my back?”

Cosima squeezes some lotion into Delphine’s hands and she rubs it into Cosima’s shoulders and back.

“You should put some on yourself also,” Cosima says as she hands over the tube and Delphine proceeds to smear it on.

“Let me get your back,” Cosima says as she takes the sunscreen and proceeds to work it into Delphine’s back. With each stroke of her hands against Delphine’s smooth, freckled back, Cosima feels herself getting hotter and hotter. Her hands slow as they reach the nape of Delphine’s neck, Cosima moves blonde curls to the side so she has unobstructed access to her intended target. After applying lotion to the exposed skin, Cosima leans forward, bringing her lips to Delphine’s neck.

“Cosima, you’re going to wipe all that lotion off,” Delphine giggles.

“It’s waterproof,” Cosima hums as she continues placing kisses against the smooth expanse of skin.

“Don’t you want to get to the beach?” Delphine asks, before letting out a moan when Cosima starts sucking on her pulse point.

“Did I tell you how good you look in that bikini?” Cosima asks as she removes her lips from Delphine’s neck.

Delphine twists her body so she’s facing Cosima. She reaches for Cosima’s cheeks, pulling Cosima’s face close to hers and kissing her deeply. Soon their make-out grows more heated as Cosima’s back hits the mattress. Delphine, now on top of Cosima, continues kissing her passionately. Eventually, Delphine has to break for air and sits up so she’s straddling Cosima’s waist. Cosima opens her eyes, which focus immediately on the top half of Delphine’s bikini. Still worked up from their make-out, Cosima reaches her hands up, gripping a breast in each hand. Delphine’s eyes go wide and her breath hitches, causing Cosima to drop her arms back down to the bed. “Delphine, I am so sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

Delphine reaches for Cosima’s hands, bringing them back up to their previous position before leaning down and capturing Cosima’s lips. “Don’t stop,” she whispers, inciting Cosima to continue where she left off, applying more pressure and causing Delphine to moan into her mouth. Cosima pulls away and sits up so she’s facing Delphine, then leans down into Delphine’s chest, kissing the exposed skin where the two bikini cups meet, her tongue flicking out to trace their curves.

“Cosima,” Delphine calls out. “Cosima, we should really get to the beach.”

“Uh huh,” Cosima responds, not ceasing her tongue’s exploration.

Delphine laughs before pulling Cosima’s head up to look at her, kissing her lips before climbing off the bed and dragging Cosima along. “Come on, let’s put this bikini to good use.”

“I thought we were,” Cosima grins.

“Cosima! We have all the time for that and a limited amount of time in Los Angeles. We can pick up where we left off later.”

“You promise?” Cosima holds up a pinky.

“Je promets.” Delphine wraps her pinky around Cosima’s.

They finish getting ready, putting shorts on over their bathing suits, throwing a couple towels in a knapsack, and then heading out.

“I was thinking we could bike down to Venice Beach,” Cosima says, once they step outside.

“But we don’t have bicycles,” Delphine points out.

“I know. We’re gonna steal ‘em.”

“What? I will not commit a crime, Cosima.”

“Chill, I’m just messing with you, we can rent them.” Cosima leads them to a bike rental tent.

“Cosima, how about this one?”

“A bicycle built for two?” Cosima smiles, “Ok, that could be fun.” They rent the yellow tandem bike that Delphine picked out.

Delphine insists Cosima sit up front and pedal. They quickly make their way down the bike path along the sand. Once they reach Venice Beach, Cosima locks up the bike and they step onto the sand.

“This is so beautiful,” Delphine says, admiring the view.

“Very,” Cosima says looking at Delphine. She takes Delphine’s hand and they walk through the sand towards the water.

“How’s this spot?” Cosima asks, coming to a stop.

“Perfect,” Delphine nods and they place their towels on the sand before laying down.

They both close their eyes as they bask in the sun. About a half hour later, Delphine finds her sunlight obscured. She opens her eyes to find a young man standing in front of her, blocking the light. “Can I help you?” she asks and Cosima opens her eyes to see what’s going on.

“I’m sure you can,” the guy responds. He stands about 6 foot 2, has dark brown hair, blue eyes, six-pack abs, and is holding a frisbee. “My boys and I are set up over there.” He points in their direction. “We’ve got chairs, beer, snacks, why don’t you come over and have some fun with us?”

“No thanks,” Delphine responds.

“Ooh an accent, very hot. Come on,” he insists.

“She said no,” Cosima speaks up.

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember asking you,” the frat guy says to Cosima.

“Just go back to your ‘boys,’ ” Cosima says with wave of her hand in their direction.

“What are you her mother?”

“No, she’s definitely not my mother,” Delphine responds. “She’s my girlfriend. Now please get out of my sun.”

“Girlfriend? For real?” Delphine nods. “Ok then, that’s unfortunate. If you change your mind, my name’s Adam and I’ll be right over there.”

“What a jerk,” Delphine comments once he’s gone.

“Do you think he’s attractive though?” Cosima asks.

“I don’t know, I didn’t give it much thought, he was quite annoying.”

“Yeah, but if he wasn’t an asshole, would you think he was good looking?” Cosima persists.

“Maybe. Cosima why are you asking me this?”

I don’t know, sometimes I just wonder if you’d want to date a guy. I mean look at you, guys are always gonna be after you, and they’re not always gonna be idiots like Adam or Chad. There will be nice guys that will ask you out and you might like them, too.”

“Cosima, stop, I have no interest in dating anyone other than you. Have I not made that clear enough for you?”

“No, you have, it’s just, I don’t know, we happened kind of quickly and, well, I just thought you might have other interests you’d want to pursue.”

“Other interests? Really? So should I be worried you’ll spot a girl out here on the beach and want to date her?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then you shouldn’t worry about me either.”

“Yeah, but how do you know you wouldn’t rather date a boy?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“Mon dieu, Cosima, you are impossible.” Delphine pulls her hair off her neck. “Do you see this mark?”

“The hickey?” Cosima smirks.

“Yes, the hickey. You gave me that an hour ago in our hotel room. You’re the only one I want to kiss me like that or touch me like you were. I’m yours, Cosima, all yours.”

Cosima’s eyes well up with tears. “Delphine, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Cosima looks deep into Delphine’s eyes, which are so sincere and full of warmth. Suddenly the words on the tip of her tongue are swallowed up, replaced by Delphine’s own words, “I’m all yours, too.”

Delphine kisses Cosima, “Good, now let’s take a dip in the ocean.” Delphine pulls Cosima up and they run into the water. Cosima splashes Delphine, then runs off. Delphine chases her, easily catching up with her longer strides. Delphine leaps on Cosima’s back, dunking her under the water. Then Delphine turns and runs for the shore, she slips on the sand, landing on her butt. Cosima takes the opportunity to tackle Delphine, knocking her flat on her back, then kissing her as a wave comes in, surrounding them with water.

“I always wanted to do that, saw it in an old movie, looked romantic.”

“Ah, yes, the romance you promised me.”

“It’s not quite as romantic as they made it look,” Cosima says as she picks seaweed out of Delphine’s hair. Delphine squints up at Cosima, the sun shining directly in her eyes. “You’re so cute,” Cosima places a kiss on each of Delphine’s  
eyes, “but we need to get you a pair of sunglasses.”

They walk over to the stands along the promenade, Delphine peruses the sunglasses, trying a bunch on before landing on a pair of aviators that earn a thumbs up from Cosima. They grab a couple bottles of water before walking back to their towels and laying out. After 45 minutes, Cosima turns to Delphine, “Hey, you wanna build a sand castle?”

“Sure,” Delphine grins.

“A kid left some pails over there, come on we’ll use those.” They pick up the buckets and Cosima leads them to the water where they collect wet sand, then bring it back to their area and start building. An hour and a half later they have a very intricately built castle, complete with a couple towers and a moat with a drawbridge. “This needs to be captured for posterity. Princess, please stand behind your castle.” Cosima pulls her cellphone out of her bag and snaps pics of Delphine with the castle. Then Delphine directs Cosima to do the same.

“We should get pictures with the both of us,” Delphine says, flagging down a passerby who obliges and takes a couple shots of them with their masterpiece. “These are great,” Delphine says as she swipes through the photos, texting selects to her phone.

“We should head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner,” Cosima announces. They collect their stuff and return to their bike. “Do you want to sit up front this time?”

“I, uh, I don’t think I know how to ride a bike,” Delphine admits.

“Ah, I bet you’ll be a natural, come on, give it a try.”

Delphine hops on the front seat. “Ok, before I get on the back, why don’t you see if you can do it solo.” Delphine starts to pedal, but she’s wobbly and has to put her feet down to avoid falling. “Keep trying, I’ll hold the bike steady as you get the hang out of it.” Cosima stands to the side, holding the bike up and walking along as Delphine slowly pedals and steers. “Good, good, now I’m gonna move around to the back, just try to maintain your balance.” Cosima grabs hold of the back of the bike, then gives it a little push.

Delphine is controlling the bike on her own, though it takes her 30 seconds before she realizes Cosima is no longer helping her. “Cosima,” she calls out as she travels down the path, “how do I stop this thing?”

“Squeeze the hand brake,” Cosima shouts as she runs towards Delphine. Delphine brings the bike to a stop as Cosima catches up. “Sorry, I should have taught you that whole braking part earlier.” She hops on the back and Delphine gets them back to the bike rental in one piece.

“You did really well on the bike,” Cosima praises as they walk back to their hotel.

“Thank you for teaching me, that was fun. So where are we going for dinner?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“But what should I wear?”

“It’s casual, so your black jeans and white tank are fine.”

They shower and change. When they get back outside the hotel, Don’s car is waiting for them. “You’re taking your dad’s car?”

“Yeah, he said I could use it tonight.” Cosima opens the passenger side door for Delphine, before getting in behind the wheel. They hop onto the 10 and drive to Downtown LA.

Cosima parks in a lot and they walk a few blocks to a small hole-in-the-wall nightclub. They’re shown to a table near the stage where a woman is finishing up her set. After perusing the menu, they place their orders. A pianist takes the stage and begins playing. Their food is served towards the tail end of the pianist’s set. They begin to eat as a duo sings covers of classic duets. As Cosima and Delphine finish their dinner, a group called The Drones takes the stage, they’re a quintet of young men, each playing a different instrument. The leader of the group appears to be the shaggy haired guy with a beard and flannel shirt who is playing the guitar and singing. The Drones have a folksy, Lumineers-type sound and are quite good. Once their performance ends, the lead guy in the flannel shirt jumps off the stage and approaches Cosima, who greets him with a hug.

“Cosima, it’s so good to see you,” he says as they embrace.

“You too, man.”

Delphine watches them, confused as to how they know one another. Cosima turns towards her, “Cal, I want you to meet Delphine. Delphine, this is Cal.”

They shake hands and it hits Delphine, “Are you Sarah’s Cal?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say I’m Sarah’s Cal,” he laughs and brushes hair out of his eyes. “And you must be the Blondie that Sarah’s been telling me about. The one who’s got, how did Sarah put it, ‘her tongue down Cos’s throat 24/7.’ ”

“Oh god, don’t listen to Sarah. Delphine hasn’t stuck her tongue down my throat in hours.”

“Cosima!” Delphine blushes.

“Don’t worry, Delphine, I take everything they say with a grain of salt. But one thing Sarah did get right was your amazing hair.”

“Yeah, that’s why I keep her around,” Cosima smirks, earning a playful swat from Delphine.

“Your band was really great, Cal,” Delphine comments.

“Thanks! I met those guys back in September when the semester started, we clicked instantly and began jamming together on campus, eventually booking little gigs around town and hitting open mike nights like this.”

“Cal used to perform solo at coffee houses all over San Fran, we all used to go to his shows like his little groupies,” Cosima explains. “It’s good to see you still keeping up with your music.”

“Yeah, it’s a nice outlet from the grind of college, which you definitely need, as you’ll learn soon enough. I know how you tend to spend hours alone in a lab, but you need to have something else, an escape. For me, that’s music.”

“I’ve had Delphine to distract me lately,” Cosima smiles, taking Delphine’s hand and entwining their fingers.

“That’s not exactly what I meant, but I guess it’ll do for now,” he smirks. “So, Delphine what are you interested in, besides her?”

“Well, like Cosima, I’m very fond of science. I’m considering studying immunology.”

“Nice. Looks like we’ve got a couple of science girlfriends here then, huh?” Cal observes as the girls smile at each other.

“Cal, we gotta head out,” a band member interrupts.

“Sorry, we’ve got a gig tonight back on campus, so we need to get going, but it was so great seeing you, Cosima, I’m glad you could make it tonight. And Delphine, it was very nice meeting you.”

“You, too, Cal, and thanks for helping Cosima and Scott with their little school issue,” Delphine says referring to their hacking into the school system.

“Oh, Cosima told you about that, huh? Yeah, I was happy to help, but let’s keep that on the D.L.”

“Totally, man, but it was very much appreciated, more than you know,” Cosima adds as she gives Cal a hug goodbye.

Once Cal has left, Delphine turns to Cosima, “Wow, he and Sarah couldn’t be more different.”

“Yeah, no kidding, but they balance each other out well.”

“So, what are we going to do now? Head back to the hotel?”

“Actually, there’s a place a couple blocks from here I was thinking we could go.”

Cosima leads Delphine to their next stop. Once inside, they are greeted by a pulsating beat, strobe lights, and hordes of dancing bodies.

“A dance club?”

“Yeah, I want to see some more of those moves you displayed at my house party.”

“My moves? What about your moves? You were very impressive that night, Cosima, with your undulating hips and hands.”

“You noticed?”

“Of course I noticed, you were quite captivating. Come, show me more,” Delphine takes Cosima’s hand and leads her to the dance floor, finding a spot for them to dance amongst the masses.

Cosima gets into the rhythm, swirling her hips, hands writhing in the air. Delphine follows her lead. Soon they’re circling one another as they move, barely breaking eye contact. When the beat eventually switches to something a little sexier, Delphine maneuvers their bodies so that she’s flush behind Cosima. She grabs Cosima around her waist, Cosima’s arms reach up behind her so she can hook her hands around the back of Delphine’s neck as they sway, Cosima grinding into the warm body behind hers. After grooving like that for a while, Delphine twirls Cosima in her arms, positioning them so they’re face to face. Both of them are sweaty and panting from the physical exertion and the heat of the club. Delphine’s skin is glistening and Cosima is overcome with desire. She finds a sudden burst of energy, pulling herself up into Delphine, lips capturing lips. They forget about the swarm of people around them and, for that moment, there’s just the two of them on that dance floor, their tongues continuing the dance their bodies began. They’re soon jolted out of their euphoria when a flittering body bumps into Delphine.

“Maybe we should go somewhere more private,” Cosima suggests and Delphine nods her agreement.

Luckily there’s no traffic at this time of night and they make it back to their hotel fairly quickly. Cosima leaves the car with the valet and they head inside hand in hand.

As soon as Cosima locks the door to their room, she swirls to face Delphine, who grabs her, continuing where they left off at the club. As they kiss, Cosima guides them towards Delphine’s bed. Delphine scoots herself backwards up towards the pillows, Cosima crawls after her, settling on top of her so she can resume their lip lock. Cosima pulls her glasses off, placing them on the nightstand, before trailing her lips down Delphine’s neck. When Cosima’s chain of kisses leads her to the top of Delphine’s tank top, she moves down to the hem of her shirt, pushing it up sightly to reveal Delphine’s stomach. Cosima places light kisses over the exposed flesh, before finding her way to her belly button, her tongue flicking out to explore the indentation. The sensation causes Delphine to giggle. Cosima stops and glances up at Delphine with a grin on her face, “Looks like I found another place you’re ticklish.”

Delphine sits up and removes her tank top, revealing a black bra underneath. Cosima moistens her lips at the sight, before resuming her path of kisses. Delphine stops her, “Um, Cosima, don’t you think you’re overdressed?”

Cosima yanks her blouse over head and tosses it on the floor. “Better?”

Delphine stares at the sight in front of her.

“Delphine? My eyes are up here,” Cosima chuckles.

“I don’t think Felix exaggerated anything in that painting,” Delphine replies. With Cosima no longer laying atop her, she takes the opportunity to sit up, smashing her lips into Cosima’s before grabbing her by the waist and rolling them so she is now hovering above Cosima.

“Damn, Delphine, taking charge, huh?”

Delphine doesn’t respond with words, instead she lets her lips answer for her. She captures Cosima’s lips in a kiss, then moves to nibble at her ear before sucking on her earlobe. She then places a trail of kisses down Cosima’s neck as her hands move over the plane of Cosima’s stomach before sliding up and lightly cupping each breast through Cosima’s bra, just as Cosima had done to her earlier.

Cosima moans, her own hands feverishly running up and down Delphine’s back, as Delphine increases the pressure of her hands. Delphine’s lips return to Cosima’s mouth, stifling the rest of her whimpers, while her fingers feel Cosima’s nipples harden. Cosima shivers and Delphine pulls her mouth away. “Are you cold?”

“No, I’m hot, very hot,” Cosima huffs, pulling Delphine’s face back to hers.

The next time they break for air, Delphine rolls off of Cosima, breathing heavily as she lays on her back and turns her head towards Cosima. “Cosima?”

“Yeah?” Cosima rolls onto her side and looks at Delphine.

“That was nice.”

“Yeah, it was,” Cosima grins as she entwines their hands on top of Delphine’s stomach.

“Would you be annoyed if we didn’t go any further tonight?”

“Of course not, no rush, whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, I just don’t think I’m ready yet.

“Yeah, I get it, no pressure.”

“Have you done it before?”

“Done what?”

“ _It_.” Delphine replies.

“Oh, _it_ ,” Cosima laughs. “No, I haven’t.”

“Really? Not even with Bobby? You two must have been serious, she wanted to get back together with you.”

“No, we only dated for like a month and in that time we probably saw each other 7 or 8 times before we ended it. I guess she liked me more that I thought, but we never did anything more than kiss. And before that I had just one girlfriend, when I was 12 at summer camp, and the most we did was hold hands. This, what you and I just did, is actually the most I've ever done with anyone. Oh my god, this is so weird.”

“What’s weird?”

“Having this discussion with you. Honestly, this whole thing feels so surreal.”

“Why? We’re in a relationship, isn’t it natural.”

“Yeah, I guess, but this type of thing, me in a hotel room, in my bra, with a gorgeous girl, who is also in her bra, that doesn’t happen to me.”

“I’m same girl who’s been in your bed for the last month.”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe that either. I feel like I’m gonna wake up and this, us, will have all been a dream.”

“It’s not a dream and when you wake up, I’ll be right here.”

Cosima smiles as she leans forward to give Delphine a quick peck on the lips. “So why were you asking if I’d had sex?”

“Well, cause I was wondering how we’d know what to do when the time comes.”

Cosima starts to crack up.

“Cosima, it’s not funny.”

“It is kinda funny.”

Delphine glares at her.

“Ok, ok, sorry. When the time comes, we’ll figure it out together. Besides, I’ve seen some movies, I have a pretty good idea what to do.”

“Movies, huh? Is that where you learned that whole belly button thing?”

“Possibly, though I wasn’t expecting you to be so ticklish or for there to be so much sand in there.”

“What? There was?” Delphine’s hand moves to check her navel.

Cosima laughs.

“You’re a brat.”

“And you’re too easy.”

“Oh really? How easy can I be, I’m still wearing clothes?”

“Touché. On that note, I say we shed some more of these layers and get to sleep, we have another big day tomorrow and I actually plan to get up early for it,” Cosima says as she pulls off her skirt and gets under the covers.

Delphine shuts the lights, then takes off her jeans. She goes to grab a nightgown, then decides to sleep in her bra and underwear like Cosima is. She slips under the covers and Cosima reaches her arm around her waist, finding it bare. Cosima smiles and snuggles in closer, entwining her legs with Delphine’s.

“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me what we’ll be doing tomorrow?”

“Nope, but brace yourself for the ride of your life.”


	22. A Happy Place

“Delphiiiiine,” Cosima sings in the blonde’s ear. “Wakey wakey.”

“Cosima?” Delphine groggily asks.

“Yes?”

“What time is it?”

“6am.”

Delphine’s eyes shoot open and she grabs a hovering Cosima by her shoulders. “Who are you and what have you done with my Cosima?”

“My name is Amisoc. I am an alien from the planet Cophinium. I have taken control of Cosima’s body,” Cosima answers in her best alien accent.

“That explains a lot. I’m assuming you were the one in her body last night, cause that was hot.”

“Hey, no, no, no. That was the real me,” Cosima whines, dropping her alien facade.

“Come on, there is no way my girlfriend would willingly wake up at 6 am.”

“Today is the exception to the rule. I’m so freakin’ excited for what we’re gonna do,” Cosima grins. “So, come on; get up, get dressed, and let’s go.”

“What should I wear?” Delphine inquires as she gets out of bed and walks over to the dresser.

“Shorts, tank top, comfortable shoes. We’ll be doing _a lot_ of walking.”

After showering and getting dressed, they head downstairs and grab a couple muffins from the dining room before heading outside.

“Good morning, Ms. Niehaus, your car is right over there,” a valet points towards the rented Toyota Prius.

“Thanks, man!”

“Cosima, you rented a car?”

“Yup. We need it, we’ve got about an hour drive ahead of us.”

Once on their way, Delphine starts getting more and more curious, “Can’t you just give me a hint where we’re going?”

“It’s in California,” Cosima replies with a smirk.

“Very helpful. Something a little more specific, please.”

“Ok, ok. It’s got a lot of character. That’s it, anything else I tell you is liable to give it away. Oh, when I tell you to cover your eyes, you have to do it, ok? It’ll become too apparent as we get close where we’re headed and I want to see the look on your face when you see it for the first time.”

“Ok, now I’m even more intrigued. A lot of character, hmm.” Delphine sits back and quietly tries to think of where they might be going. “The opera?”

“Are you kidding? Um, no, no way. Do I strike you as the opera type?”

Delphine laughs, “I’m not good at this guessing game. I think I’ll just wait and see.”

“Good plan.” Cosima turns up the radio and they both start singing and bopping around.

Suddenly, Cosima spots a billboard. “Close your eyes,” she shouts and Delphine does as instructed.

“Does this mean we’re almost there?” Delphine inquires.

“Oh yeah, so close I can taste it.”

“Is this a food thing we’re going to?”

“No, it’s just an expression,” Cosima laughs, “but they do have food.”

A few minutes later Cosima pulls into a parking lot. “Ok, keep ‘em shut. I’m gonna come around and help you out of the car.”

Cosima gets out, runs around to the passenger side, opens the door and assists Delphine. She proceeds to lead Delphine to their destination, Delphine extending her right arm out and waving it around so as not to bump into anything.

Finally they come to a stop, the sounds of other people around them becoming very apparent to Delphine.

“Ok, you ready?”

Delphine nods.

“1…2…3, open your eyes!”

Cosima stares expectantly as Delphine opens her eyes, looking around.

“Disneyland!” Delphine screeches before turning to Cosima and enveloping her in a hug. “This is incredible!”

“So you’re happy?”

“Yes, yes, yes, so very happy!” Delphine exclaims giddily, punctuating each yes with a kiss to Cosima’s face.

Cosima whips out the pre-purchased tickets and takes Delphine’s hand. She leads her through the gate and into the park. Delphine grabs a map on the way in. Once on the other side of the gate, Delphine glances around, wide-eyed. Cosima glances at Delphine’s childlike expression and can’t resist leaning in to kiss her.

“Where should we start?” Delphine asks.

“Well, lines are going to get really long, really fast, so how about we start at Space Mountain? I did promise you the ride of your life.”

“Ah, ride of my life, as in theme park rides. Very clever, Cosima. Ok, Space Mountain it is.”

Once they reach their destination, they get on the line, which hasn’t gotten too bad yet. As they get closer to the front, Delphine begins gnawing on her lower lip.

“What’s wrong?” Cosima asks.

“It’s silly.”

“Tell me.”

“I - well, I’m nervous about the roller coaster. I’ve never been on one, as far as I know, and they look kind of terrifying,” Delphine admits.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry I didn’t even think. Here I am dragging you to a coaster for your first ride. If you want, we can go to a more chill ride first. But, just so you know, this one is indoors, in the dark, it’s fast, but it doesn’t go upside down or anything too crazy. It’s actually over super quick.”

“No, I want to do it, it’s just a little daunting.”

“Ok, if you’re sure, and, hey, I’m gonna be right next to you the whole time and you can hold my hand, cover your eyes, anything that makes you more comfortable.”

“Thank you.”

After several more minutes, it’s their turn to board the ride, they end up in the very last car. They sit down and secure the safety bar.

“Quick, give me a kiss, just in case,” Cosima says.

“In case what?”

“In case one of us doesn’t make it.”

“Cosima!” Delphine shouts.

Cosima grins and quickly kisses Delphine. “I’m kidding, come on hold my hand,” Cosima turns her hand over and Delphine entwines their fingers.

The ride takes off and Delphine shrieks, squeezing Cosima’s hand tightly. Through the rest of the ride, no sound comes out of Delphine’s mouth. When they finally pull in to the station, Cosima turns to Delphine with a big smile on her face, “So?”

Delphine doesn’t respond at first, her mouth agape, then she slowly turns to Cosima, “That… was… amazing!”

Cosima laughs, “Yes! I’m glad you liked it.”

They head towards the exit, stopping to see their photo from the ride. When it pops up on the screen, Cosima quickly takes a photo of it with her cellphone. “Delphine, look at your hair, your curls are practically floating. You look so good, they should hire you as a ride model.”

Delphine looks at the pic, “Non, I think you look adorable. They should hire you with that huge smile of yours. Come, I want to go on more rides.” Delphine grabs Cosima’s hand and pulls her back outside.

Next, they ride the Matterhorn, followed by It’s a Small World. “Cosima, would you like to travel to other countries?” Delphine asks as they walk through the park to their next stop.

“Oh yeah, definitely. I’ve only ever been to Canada, Mexico, England, and Peru with my folks. I’d love to visit Australia, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan, oh, and France, of course. Man, I could go on and on. How about you?”

“Oui, I really want to see the world. It’s so fascinating, all the different languages and cultures.”

“Maybe we could travel together some day.”

“I’d like that,” Delphine smiles as they enter Toontown.

After riding some of the rides there, they meet and take a photo with Mickey. As they leave Mickey’s house, Delphine stops in her tracks. “A lot of character, now I get it!”

Cosima laughs and kisses Delphine’s cheek, “You’re so cute.”

Fantasyland is their next stop, where they hit up Dumbo, Peter Pan, the teacups, and a many other rides before stopping for lunch.

“This is so much fun, Cosima, I don’t know how I can thank you enough for such an amazing day,” Delphine says after lunch as they walk through Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

“Your smile is thanks enough. And, hey, this day wasn’t exactly selfless, I love it here. I’ve only been three times and all of them were with my parents, so it’s really nice getting to experience this place with you, makes it even more special.” As they walk out of the castle, Cosima stops and gets down on one knee.

“Cosima, what’s wrong?”

Cosima grabs Delphine hand, “Delphine, there’s something important I want to ask you. And I thought, seeing as how we’re outside a castle and you’re my Princess, this was the perfect place to do it.”

“Cosima?”

“Delphine Marie Cormier, you’re my best friend, an amazing girlfriend, an incredible kisser, and the kindest person I have ever met. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you show up in my life, but from the moment you did, my life has gotten brighter, I feel like the sun shines just for us. You have brought nothing but immense happiness into my life and I don’t want that feeling to end, ever, so will you do me the honor of becoming my prom date?”

“Cosima, mon dieu, don’t you think that’s moving a little too fast? Wait, did you say prom date?”

“Yeah, what did you think I said?”

“I thought you were propos-” Cosima grins as Delphine responds, “Cosima! You are impossible.”

“So is that a yes?”

Delphine releases a faux-exasperated sigh, “Oh, I guess.”

Cosima jumps up off her knee, “Woohoo!”

Delphine smiles and Cosima wraps her arms around her and pulls her in for a kiss.

“Come on, this calls for a ride on Big Thunder,” Cosima takes Delphine’s hand and pulls her towards Frontierland.

They get on line and Cosima is grinning from ear to ear. “I can’t believe I’m going to prom.”

“Why can’t you believe it?”

“I just didn’t think I’d go. It’s funny, Scott and I were talking about prom one night, actually, it was the night you showed up, and neither of us thought we’d have dates, so we weren’t planning on going. It’s so crazy how quickly things change. I hope he asks Sarah, then we can all go together. Ah, it’ll be so fun. I get to show off my girl and her moves while we dance all night.”

“Hey, I’m the one that will be showing off my girl and her moves,” Delphine insists.

“We’ll show off each other. Man, I never thought I’d say this, but I can’t wait for prom.”

Their time comes and they board the train car. This time Delphine screams throughout the ride, constantly feeling like she’s going to get thrown out.

It comes to a stop back in the station, “Merde, that could have been smoother.”

“Ha, yeah, that’s sorta the thrill of it. Did you hate it?”

“Non, it was exciting. Where to next?”

They tackle Splash Mountain, which curls Delphine’s hair even more, then they enter the Haunted mansion, where Cosima relishes Delphine grabbing her out of fright.

“Ok three more to go, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Jungle Cruise,” Cosima announces, glancing at the map.

Due to long lines, it takes them two hours to complete their final three rides. “Ready to park hop?”

“You want to hop through the park?” Delphine asks.

“Yeah, come on, hop with me,” Cosima says as she starts hopping and Delphine follows, mimicking her actions. Cosima stops, turns, and falls down laughing. “Oh my god, Delphine, you actually hopped.”

Delphine stands there confused, looking at a hysterical Cosima writhing on the ground. “Cosima, would you like to share what’s so funny?”

“Park hopping just means switching over to California Adventure, the sister park. I thought we could spend the rest of the day over there.”

“There’s another park?”

“Yeah, look,” Cosima gets up and points to rides in the distance.

“I didn’t know there were two.”

“Obvs,” Cosima grins and Delphine punches her arm playfully. “Ouch. So you wanna walk or shall we hop?”

Delphine sticks her tongue out and they start walking down Main Street towards the exit, getting their hands stamped in the process. They cross over and enter California Adventure.

“Del, I need to use the restroom. Do you need to go or do you want to wait here?”

“No, I’m good, I’ll wait.”

Cosima heads off to the bathroom, leaving Delphine by a bench. When Cosima returns several minutes later, Delphine is gone.

“Delphine,” Cosima calls out, “Delphine, where’d you go?”

Cosima looks around, but there’s no sign of Delphine. She immediately starts to panic. She whips out her phone and dials Delphine’s cell, but it goes straight to voicemail. “Delphine!” she yells, to no response. She then starts running around, asking passersby if they’ve seen Delphine, showing them the photo of Delphine on the home screen of her phone. Nobody recognizes her. She spots a security guard in the distance and runs towards him.

Just as she’s about to reach him, she hears a familiar voice, “Cosima!” She turns her head, and there, standing in the doorway of a gift shop, is Delphine.

“Delphine!” she shouts, running towards her and embracing her tightly, “I didn’t know where you went. Your phone was off and I was freaking out, thinking I’d lost you. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Of course, I’m okay, you didn’t lose me, I’m right here. I’m sorry I scared you.”

It’s then that Cosima lets go and looks up at Delphine. “Whoa, Delphine, you looking so fucking hot. Those ears, holy shit!” Cosima exclaims looking at the Mickey ears hat Delphine is wearing. “I don’t think I’ve ever been as attracted to you as I am right now and I’m always attracted to you.”

“Cosima, do you have some sort of Mickey Mouse fetish I should know about?”

“I do now,” Cosima replies as she leans up and kisses Delphine deeply.

“Cosima,” Delphine murmurs against her lips, “I think we’re blocking the entrance to the store.”

Cosima releases Delphine and they step aside, letting a family enter the shop.

“Where do you want to start?” Delphine asks

“I’d like to start back at our hotel room,” Cosima states with a wink.

“Cosima, you are incorrigible.” Delphine grabs a map and points to a ride, “Let’s start here.”

The begin at Soaring Over California and work their way around the park. As soon as it gets sufficiently dark outside, Cosima steers them towards her favorite ride, “Delphine, hold onto your hat, it’s Tower of Terror time.”

Delphine is unprepared for what’s in store and, when the first drop occurs, she screams so loudly, everyone on the ride turns to look at her. She clutches her hat with one hand, while her other hand grips Cosima’s tightly. “That was terrifying,” Delphine declares as they exit the tower.

“Lives up to its name then,” Cosima smirks. “Look at that,” Cosima points to their ride photo, “they snapped it right when you everyone looked at you. You’re the focal point. That’s hysterical.” Cosima quickly snaps a photo of the photo for posterity. “Ok, now that you tackled that one, I think you’re ready for the big leagues: California Screamin’.”

As they approach the roller coaster, Delphine hears the screams of the riders. “I don’t know about this Cosima. Merde, there’s a loop.”

“One loop, you can handle it,” Cosima assures.

“I’m beginning to think you choose these scary rides just so I’ll hold onto you.”

“That’s an added bonus, not gonna lie.”

The line is long and Delphine’s nerves build as they slowly make their way to the front of the line. This time they end up in the front car. Delphine secures her hat in her pocket and they bring the safety bar down over them.

“This will prevent you from falling out,” Cosima says as the ride takes off.

Delphine shouts a string of curses in French that intensify once they hit the loop. Cosima reaches her hand over and entwines her fingers with Delphine’s. When the ride comes to a stop, Delphine is an even paler shade of white than she started out as. Their hands are still entwined when Cosima looks over, “You ok?”

Delphine moves her fingers so she’s now firmly gripping Cosima’s and starts to bend them back.

“Ow my ow!” Cosima yelps.

Delphine lets go as they bring the safety bar up over their heads and get off the ride.

“What was that for?” Cosima asks, wincing.

“One loop, you can handle it,” Delphine mimics. “That was horrible.”

Cosima starts laughing.

“I’m glad you find my fright funny.”

“I’m sorry, but it is. Look at that photo,” Cosima points behind Delphine.

Delphine turns and looks at the screen. In the photo, Cosima’s mouth is wide open in a scream, but Delphine just looks angry, definitely caught mid French curse. Delphine can’t help it, she joins Cosima in laughter at the absurdity of the photo and her expression.

Cosima snaps a pic, “I just found my new home screen image. Ok, to make up for that experience, let’s go on Mickey’s Fun Wheel. It’s just a ferris wheel, zero percent scary. Unless you want it to be.”

They queue up. Luckily the line isn’t too long and they only wait about 10 minutes.

“Ok, you want the swinging gondola or the stationary one?” Cosima asks, already anticipating how Delphine will answer.

“Stationary.”

They board the ride and it starts to go round and round.

“Sorry about your hand, does it hurt?” Delphine worries.

“I’ll live, you didn’t bend it too hard.”

Delphine takes the hand and brings it to her mouth, gently kissing each digit.

“Actually, now that you mention it, my pointer finger is kinda sore.”

“Oh yeah?” Delphine places several kisses on the aforementioned finger, before gently wrapping her lips around it and sucking on it. “Better?” she asks, removing the finger from her mouth.

“Now my ring finger hurts,” Cosima holds it up, pouting.

Delphine repeats her previous actions with Cosima’s ring finger, kissing and sucking it, then does the same with her other three digits on that hand. When she finishes, Cosima is practically salivating. She leans towards Delphine, crushing their lips together in a passionate kiss. They’re so caught up in the heat of the moment, that they don’t notice the ride has come to a stop until they’re interrupted by a voice.

“Ahem, excuse me, ladies, it’s time to disembark,” the ride attendant pipes up.

They break their kiss and turn towards the man, “Sorry,” Cosima says as she leads Delphine by the hand off the gondola, “not sorry.”

“Ooh, we timed that perfectly, it’s almost 10,” Cosima happily announces as they walk around to the other side of Paradise Pier. “The show starts in 15 minutes.”

“What show?”

“World of Color. You’re gonna love it.”

Cosima leads them to an area overlooking the water and they settle in. At exactly 10:15 music booms over the area as the fountains come alive in vibrant colors. The world of color theme plays segueing into _Part of Your World_ from The Little Mermaid. Delphine stands transfixed by the spectacle before her.

As _Under the Sea_ begins, Delphine leans into Cosima’s ear, “This is incredible, so majestic.”

Cosima nods and wraps her arm around Delphine’s waist, resting her head on her shoulder.

The nearly 30 minute show reaches its grand finale and the girls cheer and clap loudly in appreciation.

“I want to see those movies,” Delphine announces, “The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, all of them.”

“Ok, one day we’ll do a marathon of Disney movies,” Cosima promises. “In the meantime, we seemed to have skipped dinner and my stomach is grumbling. What do you say we grab some pizza nearby and settle in for the night?”

“We’re not going back to Santa Monica?”

“Well, I figured it would be a long day, and I’d be too tired to drive back, so I rented us a room at the Candy Cane Inn, just up the road.”

“You thought of everything. Ok, let’s go, I’m hungry, too.”

They leave the park and make their way back to the car. They drive to a pizza place, pick up a pie and bring it to their motel. They check in and head to their room. As they eat, they discuss their favorite attractions and laugh at the photos that captured their faces mid-ride.

After they’ve finished off all the pizza, they strip down to their underwear for bed. In the process, Delphine takes off the Mickey hat she’s been wearing the whole time and sets it on the nightstand as she lays back against the pillows.

“Put the ears back on.”

“What?”

“The hat. Leave it on.”

Delphine notices Cosima’s lustful gaze and puts the hat back on. “Better?”

“Mmmm.” Cosima crosses the room to the bed. She kisses her way up Delphine’s body, starting at her feet and moving up her legs before jumping from her thighs to her belly button. Next, she focuses her attention on Delphine’s breasts, touching them gently through her bra, while her lips work the exposed areas at the top of the cups.

Delphine moans at the contact, then makes a split second decision, slipping her arms out of the bra straps then reaching behind to undo the hooks. Cosima stops and sits up. Just as Delphine is about to remove her bra completely, Cosima brings her hand down to stop her. “Are you sure?”

“Oui.” Cosima lets go and Delphine loses the bra, tossing it to the floor.

Cosima stares at the bare chest in front of her, then up at Delphine’s face. Her hands move to cup the breasts while her mouth captures Delphine’s, stifling her whimpers of pleasure. Cosima removes her lips and works them down Delphine’s neck and upper chest. Before she goes further, she glances up at Delphine, who meets her gaze and nods. Cosima places small kisses down Delphine’s right breast. When she reacher her nipple, her tongue flicks out, circling it before gently taking it between her lips and sucking. A few French curse fly out of Delphine’s mouth at the actions of her girlfriend, but unlike on the roller coaster, these are distinctly curses of pleasure and not of fear. Cosima takes those signs of encouragement and moves on to the left breast, repeating the same exploration with her mouth. This time, when lips and tongue meet nipple, it’s already hard. Delphine writhes beneath her as Cosima works her over. Delphine reaches her long arms down Cosima’s back and unhooks her bra. Cosima sits up, removing the undergarment from her body. Before Delphine even has a chance to marvel at Cosima’s naked bosom, Cosima leans down, pressing her lips to Delphine’s, their breasts resting on top of one another. Delphine, craving control, rolls them over. She examines Cosima’s naked torso, her hand tracing a path from her lips down to her breasts. Cosima, looking up at that beautiful face and head of hair still adorned with the Mickey ears, pulls Delphine’s head back to down to hers, lips meeting lips, tongues battling for dominance. A groan escapes Cosima’s mouth as Delphine’s hands cups her breasts, fingers rubbing until both nipples stand at attention. Delphine extracts her mouth from Cosima’s and trails her tongue down her upper body until it meets her left nipple where she imitates Cosima’s tactics, licking then sucking.

“Oh my god, Delphine,” Cosima calls out. She can’t take it anymore and reaches for Delphine’s head, beckoning her back up to her mouth. After kissing for a little while longer they break apart, panting. “I need a shower,” Cosima suddenly announces.

“I’ll be quick.” Cosima heads into the bathroom, turns on the shower, and gets in. Meanwhile, Delphine lies in bed, still catching her breath.

After a short time, Cosima emerges from the bathroom, towel wrapped around her body. “You ok?” Delphine asks.

"Oh yeah, I’m great,” Cosima responds with a grin. “You want to go in?”

“No, I’ll wait until morning, I’m pretty tired.”

Cosima finishes drying off, then slips into her underwear before slipping under the covers and nuzzling into Delphine.

“I had a really great day today, Cosima.”

“Me too,” Cosima responds. “I can’t wait to bring my kids here one day. Disneyland, I mean, not this motel.”

“Your kids?” Delphine asks.

“Sorry, sorry, _our_ kids,” Cosima clarifies.

Delphine laughs, “I meant that I didn’t know you wanted children.”

“Oh, yeah, totally, I love kids. I want at least two. Growing up an only child, even though I got a lot of attention from my parents, I kinda wished there was someone else around to play with or even fight with over stupid stuff, so I want my kids to have that. And I can’t wait to do science projects with them.”

“What if they don’t like science?”

“Are you kidding? If they don’t like science, they’re going back where they came from, that is unacceptable.” Cosima looks sincere for a moment before laughing, “Nah, whatever they like I’ll support. They just better like Disneyland.”

“Oui, how could they not? So, our kids, huh?”

Cosima blushes, “I thought that’s what you were implying, but, I mean, I would definitely want kids with you. That is, if you even want kids. And with me.”

“I never thought about it before, but seeing all the little kids running around today and how cute and happy they were, I think I would like children one day, but not anytime soon.”

“Oh, totes, I wouldn’t want kids til after I got my PhD and was established in my career, so probably in my early 30s.”

“That sounds reasonable. And I would want them with you, Cosima. You’d be a great mom, so caring and fun.”

“Well if I’m the fun mom, you could be the strict mom.”

“Strict? I am not strict.”

“No, but you’d try to be, then you’d cave and let them get away with anything.”

“That’s probably true,” Delphine admits. “That’s pretty much how it is with you.”

“Ha, ha.” Cosima yawns. “Oh man, I’m wiped.”

“We had a long day.”

“Yeah, but I think our nighttime endeavors are what wore me out.” Cosima smiles as her eyes flutter shut and soon she’s sound asleep.

On the verge of sleep herself, Delphine leans in, kissing Cosima’s forehead and whispering in her ear, “I’ll be ready soon, mon amour. Je promets.”


	23. The Santa Cos

Cosima and Delphine check out of the Candy Cane Inn at 11am, grab coffee, and drive back to Santa Monica. After returning the rental car, they head back to their room and get changed. They spend the rest of the day walking up and down Third Street Promenade, browsing in all the stores. Delphine buys a blouse with horses on it in one shop, while Cosima gets a cool black scarf with skulls on it at another. After shopping, they decide to do dinner and a movie. It’s Tuesday, so of course they can’t resist having tacos. They dine at Blue Plate Taco and sit looking out towards the ocean, watching the waves roll in. Afterwards, they walk to the theater and Cosima lets Delphine pick the movie. She’s sure Delphine will pick a romance, but, surprisingly, she opts for the newest Marvel movie.

They both really enjoy the film, though Delphine remarks that, “They really should do one of these about a female superhero. Why not a Black Widow movie?”

“Dude, totally!” Cosima agrees. “I’ve been saying that forever. The comic books are doing a female Thor, I hope they spin her off into a movie series.”

Delphine nods her agreement.

“Oh em gee!” Cosima declares, looking Delphine up and down.

“What?”

“Delphine, you would make an amazing Thor.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you’ve got the height, the hair, the strength, the beauty, the compassion. You’re the total Thor package.”

“I’m not an actress, Cosima.”

“Um, are you forgetting I attended all 3 nights of Les Miz, Cosette? You are a great actress.”

Delphine laughs, “I hardly think a high school production qualifies me to be a movie star, but if Hollywood comes calling, and wants me to play Thor, I’ll do it. For you.”

“Yes! And I will gladly play your astrophysicist girlfriend, Jane Foster.”

“I wouldn’t want any other leading lady,” Delphine punctuates her statement with a kiss.

The next day, Cosima and Delphine join Cosima’s parents on a hike at Escondido Canyon Park in the Santa Monica Mountains in Malibu. They trek up to Upper Escondido Falls, a beautiful 200 foot high waterfall. Don and Nancy stay at the bottom, while Cosima and Delphine hike up to a small landing behind the falls. They enjoy the glorious view for several minutes then, instead of hiking back down the rocks, Cosima and Delphine join hands, share a quick kiss, and jump into the water below. They resurface giggling and treading water for a bit before swimming to the edge. Nancy shows the girls the awesome photos she snapped of the two of them performing their stunt.

They find an area to set up the picnic they brought. Throughout lunch, the girls talk about what they’ve been up to the past few days, while Don and Nancy share stories from the meetings they attended. Don invites the girls to come downstairs to his lab after they return home, deciding it’s time to lift Cosima’s ban.

After hiking for a few more hours, they head back to their car just before sunset. They then drive to an oceanside restaurant along the PCH and enjoy a lovely seafood dinner. When they get back to their hotel, they split up, with Don and Nancy attending a stand-up comedy show, while Cosima and Delphine head to the Santa Monica pier.

The girls ride the carousel, indulge in ice cream, then decide to play some carnival games. They’re not having much luck when Delphine hones in on a gigantic stuffed puppy prize at the ring toss.

“Cosima, look at that puppy, isn’t it the cutest?”

“2nd cutest puppy, maybe,” Cosima grins.

“I’m gonna try to win it.” Delphine gives the barker money and is handed 3 rings. Her 1st throw jumps from bottle to bottle before landing on the ground, her 2nd just misses, while the 3rd bounces off the lip of one of the bottles. Delphine pouts in response to her failure.

“Let me try,” Cosima exchanges money for rings and gets to work. Her first ring lands just shy of hitting any bottles, while her 2nd flies way long. She takes her time before launching her 3rd and final ring. She sizes up the bottles and adjusts her grip on the ring, before she tosses it, she turns to Delphine, “Blow on it for good luck.” She holds out the ring and Delphine leans down and blows on it. Cosima turns back to the bottles and gently launches her 3rd ring. Miraculously, it lands on the neck of a bottle. Cosima screams, Delphine screams, the barker looks at the two screaming girls like he wants to be anywhere but there. “What’ll it be?” he asks.

“Gimme that puppy!” Cosima shouts.

He pulls it down and gives it to Cosima, who promptly hands it over to Delphine, “One puppy deserves another.”

Delphine hug and kisses the prized pooch.

“Hey, hey, hey, why does the stuffed animal get all the love, who won that thing for ya?” Cosima whines.

Delphine laughs and embraces Cosima, “Thank you, Chérie, for winning this for me. That was an incredible display of skill.”

“Or luck,” Cosima responds, “but if you want to call it skill, we can go with that. Come on, let’s ride the ferris wheel.”

They board the big wheel, along with the puppy, which Delphine places between them as they sit down in their gondola. The ride starts to go around and Delphine marvels at the gorgeous view.

“Excuse me, pup, you’re kinda preventing me from making out with my girl over there and that’s sort of our new ferris wheel ritual, so if you don’t mind, can we swap places. Yeah? Great!” Cosima switches places with the large stuffed animal, while Delphine laughs at the one-sided conversation. “Much better,” Cosima declares.

“I don’t know, maybe I wanted to make out with the puppy,” Delphine smirks.

“Oh, is that so? Well far be it from me to get in the way of puppy love.” Cosima moves as if to switch back to her original seat when Delphine grabs her. “Have you changed your mind about kissing the puppy?” Cosima inquires.

“I realized you probably slobber less.”

“You think?” Cosima cups Delphine’s head with her hands and leans in real close to Delphine’s lips, poised to kiss her, then proceeds to lick all over her face instead.

“Cosima!” Delphine screams through her laughter, “stop, stop.”

Cosima halts her tongue assault. “Too slobbery?”

“Oui, too slobbery.”

“Let me try that again,” Cosima closes the gap between them, lips capturing lips, her tongue gaining access to Delphine’s mouth, eliciting moans from the blonde.

They continue like this until the ride comes to a stop. Delphine opens her eyes as they break apart. “Better?” Cosima asks.

“Mmhmm.”

They walk back to their hotel, Delphine clutching the puppy. When they enter their room, Delphine plops the stuffed animal on the unused bed, then lays down next to it, while Cosima goes to the bathroom.

“Hey, Delphine,” Cosima shouts several minutes later.

“Yeah?”

“Do you still have your bathing suit on under your clothes?”

“Yeah.”

“Come here.”

Delphine gets up and walks into the bathroom where she finds Cosima luxuriating in the large whirlpool bathtub, up to her neck in bubbles.

“Get in,” Cosima implores.

“What?”

“We can’t let this awesome tub go to waste. It’s our last night here, take off your shirt and shorts and join me.”

Delphine wastes little time contemplating her next move, stripping down to her bathing suit and stepping into the tub. “Ooh, it’s so warm.”

They sit opposite each other and Cosima proceeds to blow bubbles at Delphine. Delphine closes her eyes and luxuriates.

“Excuse me, little girl,” Cosima says in a deep voice, causing Delphine to open her eyes.

“Cosima, what are you doing?” Delphine asks, as Cosima now has bubbles on her head and around her mouth.

“I am not Cosima, I’m Santa Cos, come sit in my lap and tell Santa what you want for Christmas this year.”

“It’s April.”

“Yes, but I’ve got a lot of children to bring toys to, I have to start making my list early. Now come here and tell me what you want Santa Cos to bring you.”

Delphine laughs, but plays along, scooting over to Cosima and sitting in her lap, Cosima wraps her arms around Delphine’s waist.

“Ho, ho, ho. What’s on your wish list young lady?” Santa Cos asks.

“Hmmm. I think I’d like a Corvette.”

“My dear, I don’t think that will fit on my sleigh. Is there anything else you’d like, something less likely to give Rudolph a hernia?”

“How about a drum set?”

“A drum set? Really?”

“Oui, I’d love to learn how to play.”

“Ah, so sorry, an elf just informed me that you’ll be 18 by Christmas, which means I can’t bring you any presents.”

“What? No fair. Isn’t there anything Santa Cos can give an 18 year old?”

“Let me think… ah, yes, there is! Santa can give you this,” Cosima kisses Delphine’s shoulder. “And this,” she kisses her neck. “Oh, and this,” she nibbles on her ear.

Delphine turns her head to face Cosima, “Santa Cos, I think you belong on the naughty list.” She captures Cosima’s lips in a kiss, eventually shifting so the front of her body is flush against Cosima’s, never breaking their lip lock. That is, until the weight of Delphine on top of her causes Cosima to slip under the water.

Cosima resurfaces laughing.

“You seem to have lost your beard,” Delphine remarks.

“Ah, I needed a shave anyway, that thing was quite the crumb catcher.”

“It was also very scratchy against my face. I think I prefer kissing a clean shaven Cosima.”

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time my beard starts to come in. I guess we should get out before we turn into prunes.” Cosima stands up and gets out of the tub, then helps Delphine step out. She wraps a towel around Delphine and another around herself.

Once dry, they switch into sleepwear, get under the covers, and cuddle.

“I’ve had a wonderful time on our vacation, Cosima, thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. I’ve had a great time, too, and, hey, this is only the first of many trips. We still have to see the world together.”

“I can’t wait,” Delphine replies before meeting Cosima for a languid kiss that lulls both of them into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning, they meet Don and Nancy for breakfast then pile into the car to head home.

“Do we have everything?” Don asks.

“I’m all good,” Cosima replies. “Del, do you have everything?”

“Yes,” Delphine replies, buckling the stuffed puppy into the back seat beside her and Cosima.

“What about the Mickey Mouse ears?” Cosima inquires.

“Oui, how could I forget that?” Delphine winks.

They arrive home at 8:45 that evening. After eating a late dinner they picked up on the way home, the girls go up to Cosima’s room and flop onto the bed.

“Ugh, we only have three more days till we have to go back to school. I wish this week would go on forever,” Cosima groans.

“Me too.” Delphine reaches for Cosima’s hand, covering it with her own and gently rubbing Cosima’s knuckles.

“I guess, on the bright side, we have four more weeks til prom and six weeks to graduation, then we have the whole summer just to hang out together.” Cosima glances at Delphine, who has a faraway look in her eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Delphine, come on, I can tell something is bothering you.” Cosima turns her hand in Delphine’s and entwines their fingers.

“What happens after the summer?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re going to Minnesota, Cosima, to college. And I, well I don’t know what I’ll be doing. I can’t stay here forever. Your parents are going to wonder why I’m not going back to France or to college.”

“Maybe if you send in applications, you can start college the following semester.”

“I still need a way to pay.”

“You can apply for scholarships. Don’t forget, you’re French and you have killer grades. How can they turn that combo down?”

“But I’m a fraud. If only I knew who I really am, but that doesn’t seem like it’s ever happening. I can’t fake my way into college like I did high school.”

“Just come with me.”

“And what? Hide under your bed? Cosima, really.”

“Look, I’m sure my parents would let you stay here if we say you are taking some time off and will be working. You can get a full-time job in town. You can even offer to pay rent, though I’m sure they won’t take your money. I’ll come back whenever I can and you can come visit me. We can make it work. Please, Delphine, have faith, in yourself, in me, in us.”

Cosima looks at Delphine with such hope, that, despite her worries, Delphine decides to embrace Cosima’s optimism. “You’re right. If anyone can make it work, it’s us.”

Cosima smiles and smashes her lips into Delphine’s.

After breakfast the next morning, Cosima and Delphine grab their cameras and a pair of binoculars and head out to The Presidio, a park near the Golden Gate Bridge.

“I promised you we’d go bird watching and this is one of the best sites in town. We also get that amazing view of the bridge,” she nods towards the water.

“Wow, it’s gorgeous.” Delphine starts taking photos, of the bridge, of the park, of Cosima.

“Ooh, Del, look, there’s a Cooper’s Hawk,” Cosima points towards the bird soaring above them.

“Oh my, that’s amazing, what a large wingspan. Hey, what’s that one?” Delphine points to a bird in a nearby tree.

“That is a California Quail. And that ginger over there,” she points to a nearby tree, “is Nuttall’s Woodpecker.”

They walk a little more and Delphine stops and looks around, “What bird is making that sound?”

Cosima looks around through her binoculars, “Ah, there it is, it’s a Gnatcatcher. Here take a look.” She hands the binoculars to Delphine.

“That’s a funny, chubby little bird,” Delphine observes.

Cosima laughs, “Yeah, I guess that’s an accurate description.” As they continue to explore, Cosima points out sparrows and warblers. Next they stop to grab lunch.

“You really learned a lot from your mom about birds.”

“Oh yeah, she’s got encyclopedic knowledge of them all. Her dad took her bird watching when she was little and then she took me. It’s calming, just going out and looking up at the sky and searching the tops of trees. I can be a little ADD, so I think she thought it would help me chill, which it did, but then I found pot and, well, that became my preferred method of chill. Although lately, I’ve been smoking a lot less.”

“Why’s that?”

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you keep me calm, make me feel, I don’t know, secure, I guess. When I told Cal you were a distraction, I know it sounded like I was saying that cause of the kissing, and don’t get me wrong, that’s a distraction for sure, but it’s more than that. It’s hard to explain, but I feel like you filled a part of me that had been missing. Like, I can be the smartest kid in class, and I can give off this air of confidence, of happiness, but deep down I’ve got a ton of insecurities. Those insecurities threatened to keep you and I from ever happening and I thank my lucky stars every night that we admitted how we both felt and we got to the place we’re at now. Although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t pinch myself every morning to assure myself this is real. That you’re real.”

“Of course I’m real Cosima, we are real. And what you said, about me filling a part of you that was missing, I feel the same way. But not just a part, you filled in all of me, as if I started living when we met. You gave me a life when I didn’t have one. And maybe one day I’ll remember who I was before you, but I know here, in my heart, that who I am today is so much more than I was then. That’s because of you, Cosima.”

“Delphine, I, uh, I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“The reason you feel the way you do, it’s because, um, before you showed up at my door, you, um.” Cosima is interrupted by the loud blare of her phone. “It’s my dad, I’ll call him back.”

“No, Cosima, it could be important.”

Cosima answers the phone, “Dad, what’s up?… Oh, yeah, right, ok, yeah, we’ll be back soon.”

“Is everything okay?” Delphine asks.

“Yeah, the new equipment he was expecting just came and they're finishing setting it all up, so he wanted to know if we wanted to come and work with him the lab.”

“Oh, I’d love to. But you wanted to tell me something?”

“It was nothing really, just that, uh,” Cosima feels her nerve fading and lets it evaporate, “the reason you feel that way about me is cause I’m just so damn irresistible.”

Delphine rolls her eyes.

“Come on, let’s head home, it’s science time.”

As soon as they get home and Don hears the front door slam shut, he beckons them to the lab, “Girls, come on down.”

They bound down the steps, “Hey, Pops. Wow, I’m back in the inner sanctum.”

“You are, just don’t touch anything until I say it’s ok.”

“Sure. So, this the new stuff?”

“Yeah, remember what I said about the food preservation machine?” Cosima nods. “Well on further testing we found that while it does extend the life of the fruit and vegetables, the taste quality wasn’t as strong, so now I need to work on a pretreatment of sorts for the food, though it has to be an all natural treatment. So this brings us to chemistry and, since the two of you are in AP Chem, I figured this was the perfect chance to get you involved. Delphine, I’ve already told Cosima this, but what we are working on is top secret at the moment, so we must keep this between the three of us. Ok?”

They look at Delphine, but her attention is focussed elsewhere as she looks around the lab, a curious expression on her face.

“Delphine? Earth to Delphine,” Cosima calls out.

“Désolée,” Delphine apologizes, her attention shifting back to Cosima and Don.

“Where’d you go?”

“I don’t know, there’s something about this lab.”

“Cosima, did you come down here with Delphine while your mother and I were away?”

“N-no,” Cosima feels her pulse speed up. _Please don’t remember_ , she thinks, _not now_.

Don gives her a skeptical look.

“We didn’t come down here,” Delphine concurs, “but it does feel eerily familiar.”

“Hmm, weird,” Cosima quickly interjects, “so, uh, like my dad was saying, we have to keep all of what my dad is working on between us. Cool?”

“Of course,” Delphine answers, still looking around.

“Good,” Don says, “now what suggestions do you both have?”

“Salt for the vegetables,” Cosima suggests.

“Sugar should help the fruit,” Delphine adds.

“Good, good, keep going,” Don encourages.

They stay down there for hours brainstorming chemical compounds. Just as Don is about to show them how the machine works, Cosima, terrified of Delphine getting any more familiar feelings, interrupts, “Oh, shit, I totally forgot, we’re meeting Scott for dinner tonight. We better get going.” Cosima says as she pulls Delphine towards the steps. “Let us know how it works out.”

“We’re meeting Scott?” Delphine asks as they ascend the stairs.

“Yeah, did I not tell you?” Delphine shakes her head. “Hmm, sorry, thought I did.”

As Delphine goes to change her clothes, Cosima quickly texts Scott. _Scott, whatever your dinner plans are for tonight, they now include Delphine and I._

They meet Scott at a diner where he’s sitting with Doomsday and Painmaker.

“Hey guys, sorry we’re late,” Cosima says as they approach the table. “Kenny, Eugene, this is Delphine, I’m not sure if you’ve met at school.”

“Hello,” Delphine says with a smile and wave.

“Uh, we’ve, uh, never officially met, but I’ve seen you around school,” Kenny responds, mouth agape.

“Yeah, we saw you with Scott in the cafeteria,” Eugene adds, “when you two dated and then broke up.”

“Ah, yeah, that was some week,” Cosima says as they sit down.

“So how was L.A.?” Scott asks.

“It was wonderful. Cosima took me to the beach, we went dancing, we spent a day at Disneyland.”

“How’d you like Disneyland?”

“Loved it. It truly is a happy place,” Delphine smiles. “And Cosima asked me to prom while we were there.”

Cosima grins.

“Nice!” Scott exclaims.

“Wait, uh, you and Cosima are going to prom, like you’re a couple?” Kenny inquires.

Delphine and Cosima nod.

“Whoa!” Kenny and Eugene simultaneously exclaim.

“You guys didn’t know they were dating?” Scott asks. “Haven’t you seen them holding hands and stuff at school?”

“I don’t know, I thought all that was just what girls do and that they were just really close friends,” Kenny responds.

“Oh we are _very_ close friends,” Cosima winks. “So, Scotty, when are you gonna ask Sarah to prom?”

“I don’t know, I want to, but we haven’t even said we’re an official thing.”

“What? Dude, you’ve gone out with her a bunch, I’d say you’re dating. Don’t you agree, Delphine.”

“Oui, definitely dating,” she nods.

“She’s probably waiting for you to ask, man, so step up.”

“Ok, ok, I’ll do it soon,” he promises.

“Cool. So what’s up for the rest of the night?”

“Runewars,” Scott announces.

“Ah, so you’re fueling up before you get your battle on, huh, hale fellows?”

“You know it,” Scott answers.

“Do you, like, wanna play?” Kenny asks Cosima and Delphine.

“I don’t know if you’re ready for that,” Cosima responds with a shake of her head.

“Come on, Cosima, it’ll be like old times,” Scott implores.

“What do you think, Delphine? You battle ready this evening?”

“I don’t know what Runewars is, but I’m willing to give it a go.”

After dinner, they all head back to Scott’s house where the game commences. Delphine partners with Cosima so she can learn the game. 3 hours later Cosima and Delphine have destroyed the competition.

“Sorry to pillage and run, but we best be gettin’ home,” Cosima announces.

“Already? What about a rematch?” Eugene pleads.

“Another night, Painmaker, Delphine and I gotta go make out now,” Cosima says with a wink as she grabs Delphine’s hand and they leave.

The boys just stare after them, practically drooling.

“You are so bad,” Delphine says with a nudge once they’re outside.

“Hey, gotta give them something to dream about tonight,” Cosima shrugs.

“What do you want to do this weekend?” Delphine asks later that night as they lay in bed.

“This.”

“What do you mean ‘this’?”

“I mean I just want to lay in bed all weekend and nothing else.”

“Cosima, we cannot stay in bed for the next 2 days. Besides, we need to eat.”

“We can bring a stash of food up here.”

“Don’t you think your parents will wonder why we’re not leaving your room?”

“We’ll just be sleeping, nothing salacious, well nothing _too_ salacious, I don’t want to make promises my mouth can’t keep.”

“Cosima.”

“Okay, okay, what do you wanna do?”

“You did promise me a Disney movie marathon. How many can we watch in 48 hours?”

“A lot.”

“Soooo? Do you want to spend the weekend snuggled up on the couch eating pizza and popcorn and watching movies with me?” Delphine asks sweetly.

“Hmm, I don’t know, that sounds like torture,” Cosima responds.

Delphine glares at her.

“Kidding, I’m kidding. Let’s do it.”

So starting Saturday morning right after breakfast, Cosima and Delphine spend the weekend lazing on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching movie after movie. Don, working in the lab, asking them each time he emerges if they’d like to assist him, getting a quick, “Nah, we’re good,” response from Cosima, who is determined not to risk any more of those eerily familiar feelings from Delphine. Instead, Cosima wraps her arms tightly around Delphine, silently wishing she never had to let go.


	24. Let's Talk About Sex

When her alarm clock blares bright and early Monday morning, Cosima knows spring break is officially over. She opens her eyes and finds golden orbs staring back at her.

“Bonjour,” Delphine smiles.

Cosima groans, “Ugh, I don’t know how good a morning this is. I’m not ready to go back to school. I just want to go back to sleep.”

“I know, but you can’t, so rise and shine,” Delphine sits up and Cosima gets a good look at her.

“You’ve got the Mickey ears on,” she grins.

“Oui, figured after our weekend Disney binge, it was fitting and would be something you’d enjoy seeing this morning.”

“Oh, I do enjoy seeing that hat, but not as much as I enjoy seeing the girl wearing that hat. The combination of the two…” she trails off, sitting up and kissing Delphine, preferring to show her enjoyment rather than speak it. “You gonna wear it to school?” Cosima asks when they break apart.

“No.”

“Aww, why not?”

“Because you need to focus on your school work and not on other things.”

“Wait, are you saying that if you’re wearing that hat at school, I won’t be able to control my hormones?”

“Precisely.”

Cosima stares at her.

“Cosima? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Sorry, I was picturing you in just the hat and your bikini.”

Delphine raises an eyebrow at her.

“Fine, fine, you’re right, you better only wear it in private.”

Delphine pulls the ears off, “Come on, let’s get ready, we shouldn’t be late our first day back.”

Cosima grudgingly gets out of bed, they get ready and leave for school. At the start of each class, the students spend several minutes catching up with their friends about how they spent their vacations. When fourth period rolls around, Cosima walks Delphine to Criminal Law.

“Do you realize this is the first time in the last 9 days we’re going to be apart for more than like 5 minutes?” Cosima asks as they approach the classroom.

“Wow, you’re right.”

“I don’t want to let go of your hand,” Cosima frowns.

“It’s only 45 minutes, Cosima, I’ll see you at lunch and the rest of the school day.”

“I know, I’m just being stupid.”

“No, you’re not. I get it.” The bell rings. “Cosima, you better get to class, your students are waiting.”

Cosima nods then gives Delphine 5 pecks on the lips before finally letting go of her hand, turning and rushing down the hall. Delphine enters the class and sits down beside Beth.

“Hi Beth.”

“Hey,” Beth replies, but her eyes are focussed elsewhere. Delphine follows her eye line.

“Mon dieu!” Delphine exclaims.

“Yeah, I thought she was never coming back,” Beth responds.

At the front of the class, speaking with Mr. Rosen, is Charity, who has finally returned to school.

Delphine catches Charity’s eye and then quickly looks away.

“Her nose looks good. I heard through the grapevine, the grapevine being Ali, that she refused to come back until it had completely healed and she felt comfortable being seen,” Beth whispers. “Vain bitch.”

Delphine glances towards Scott, who looks uncomfortable as Charity takes the seat beside him.

“Poor Scott, having to endure Charibitch again,” Beth says, noticing Delphine’s look of worry in his direction.

“Yeah,” Delphine says as Mr. Rosen begins the lesson. About 5 minutes later, Delphine’s phone buzzes. Turning it over in her lap, she reads the text message: _I’m bored_ , accompanied by a photo of Cosima yawning.

Delphine quickly types back: _Aren’t you supposed to be teaching?_

_I instructed them to work on their next assignment. They’re currently observing earthworms. How’s Crim Law treating you?_

_Interesting, guess who’s back. Delphine slyly snaps a pic of the back of Charity’s head and sends it._

_No way!_

_Way!_

_How does she look from the front?_

_The same as before._

_So you didn’t permanently damage her face?_

_No, but she didn’t look happy to see me._

_Ha, I’ll bet. She’ll probably keep her distance in gym. And just her luck, today we’re playing dodgeball. LOL._

_Not funny._

_Come on, you have to admit, it is kinda funny._

_Okay, it’s a little funny. I miss you._

_Miss you more xoxo_

“Damn,” Beth says, getting Delphine’s attention.

“Damn what?” Delphine asks.

“Damn, our little nerd really has you whipped,” Beth smirks, causing Delphine to blush.

After class, Delphine and Beth head to the cafeteria, while Charity asks Scott to stay behind.

As soon as Delphine enters the lunchroom, she and Cosima lock eyes. Cosima leaps up and they simultaneously rush towards one another, kissing as soon as they meet.

Beth rolls her eyes and heads to their table.

“Tell me if I’m wrong, but weren’t the two geeks together all week? They’re acting like they haven’t seen each other in ages,” Sarah remarks.

“And they were texting mushy stuff last period,” Beth adds. “They’re insane.”

“Shush, both of you, they’re sweet,” Alison smiles.

Cosima and Delphine grab some food before heading back to the table.

“What do you think Charibitch wanted with Scott?” Beth asks Delphine as she sits down.

“What do you mean?” Cosima asks, looking between them.

“Charity asked Scott to stay behind,” Delphine answers.

“Maybe you should warm up your throwing arm, just in case that bitch needs to be taught another lesson,” Cosima remarks just as Scott enters the cafeteria.

He sits down at the table and all eyes are on him.

“What did Charity want?” Beth inquires.

“Oh, she wanted to apologize for the way she treated me.”

“Quick, somebody check the weather, hell must have frozen over,” Beth says.

“She also, uh, kinda asked me out,” Scott adds.

“What?” They all say in unison.

“Yeah, she said that she’s sure Delphine was jealous of her and wanted to get her out of the way so she’d have a clear path to me, so she threw the ball at her. Now that she’s back, and Delphine and I are over, she wanted to go out.”

“Is that what happened, Del, you flew into a jealous rage?” Cosima laughs.

“Oui, exactement.”

“So what’d you say?” Cosima wonders.

“I said no, that I’d moved on and was seeing someone a lot nicer than her.”

“Yeah, dude!” Cosima gives him a high five.

“Which reminds me, there’s something I need to do,” Scott says as he spots Sarah Stubbs enter the cafeteria. He hurries over to her.

Everyone at the table watches as he approaches Sarah and asks her something. Then they hear her squeal, “Yes!” and hug Scott. Just then Charity enters, sees their embrace, and huffs over to join Aynsley’s table.

Scott leads Sarah back to the table. “Sarah just agreed to go to prom with me,” Scott announces and everyone claps and happily congratulates them.

Later that day at gym, Teddy lines the girls up for dodgeball, choosing Cosima as captain of the red team and Meera as captain of the blue team. They start picking teams. Cosima selects Delphine, Meera picks Aynsley, Delphine selects Helena, Aynsley takes Angie, Helena pulls up her sestra Sarah, Angie opts for Rachel, Sarah chooses Beth, Rachel picks Sarah Stubbs, Beth picks Alison, and Sarah Stubbs has no option but Charity.

“Excuse me, Teddy,” Charity interrupts as he’s outlining the rules, “is there some sort of face mask I can wear? Don’t want a repeat of the last time I was in your class.”

“No, wouldn’t want that. You can grab a hockey mask from the storage room,” he points in that direction. She rushes off, returning a few minutes later wearing the mask.

“You look like Jason,” Helena laughs.

“Who?” Charity asks.

“The killer from Friday the 13th. Please, Jason, do not stab me,” Helena holds up her hands in surrender.

Everyone laughs, except Charity.

Alright, ladies, only hits below the neck count as outs, catches knock out the thrower, last team with a player standing wins. Take your sides.

The game commences with the girls rushing towards three balls on the center line. Beth, Angie and Helena are the first to grab balls.

Beth hurls her ball at Aynsley, missing by a few inches, Angie throws at Alison, who gets hit on the shin and is first out. Helena throws her ball at Rachel, nailing her on the ass and Rachel takes the bench.

Sarah Stubbs throws at Sarah Manning, who catches it, knocking Stubbs out. Cosima throws at Charity but it sails over her head as she ducks. Aynsley launches her ball towards Delphine who jumps out of the way. Beth tosses the ball at Angie who tries to catch it, but only get a finger on it, knocking her out.

Meera hurls the ball at Sarah, grazing her shoulder, and Manning is out. Helena then throws the ball back at Meera, hitting her foot. Aynsley hits Beth on the elbow. Helena tries to catch Charity’s throw but can’t hold on. The only players left standing are Cosima and Delphine vs Charity and Aynsley. Cosima fakes a throw at Charity but switches directions at the last second, nailing Aynsley in the thigh.

Charity then launches the ball straight at Cosima, getting her right in the gut. “Oof,” Cosima groans, clutching her belly.

Delphine runs over to check on her, “You okay, Chérie?”

“Yeah, just wasn’t expecting it to be that hard. Go get her.” Cosima gives her a peck before taking a seat on the bench.

It’s the final face off, Delphine vs Charity. They’re both armed, as Teddy removes the third ball from play. “Sorry, Delphine, looks like I knocked out your girlfriend. I’ve heard you’ve been busy while I’ve been gone, going from one dork to the next. Is the rest of the chess team next?”

“I heard you asked Scott out today and he said no, how does that feel? Looks like you got blown off by a so-called ‘dork’. Your loss.”

“How’d you like taking my part in the musical? I’m beginning to sense a pattern here Delphine. Scott, Cosette, I’m surprised I didn’t come back and find you’d become besties with Aynsley and Meera. Are you going to try to break something else on my body? Want to get me out of the way again?”

“The standing ovations I got were pretty amazing.” Delphine laughs, “Sorry, I’m finding it very hard to take you seriously when you look like a serial killer. Are you that scared of needing another nose job?”

Charity throws her ball as hard as she can at Delphine, but she quickly moves out of the way. Charity pulls off her mask and throws it towards the bench, “I’m not scared, especially not of you. You took a cheap shot with that basketball, that won’t happen again.”

Delphine hurls the ball, but Charity avoids it. They go back and forth like this for a while, with both insults and balls being thrown.

“I wouldn’t have taken Blondie for a shite talker,” Sarah remarks. “This your influence, Cos?”

“No, she’s just very passionate,” Cosima grins. “Come on, Del!”

“Oh, look, Nerdhaus is cheering you on. How cute,” Charity smirks.

“Nerdhaus? Did she just call me Nerdhaus? I haven’t heard that once since elementary school,” Cosima remarks.

“Don’t,” Delphine admonishes.

“Don’t what? Don’t make fun of your little girlfriend? Is that bothering you?”

“Uh oh,” Cosima says.

“What?” Beth asks.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Cosima replies.

“You can say anything you want about me, but leave Cosima out of it.”

“Lesbi real here, Delphine, if you wanted to come to this country and give girls a go, you could have done a lot better than Scientific American over there.”

“Ha, you have no idea what you’re talking about. I can assure you that there is no other girl, or guy for that matter, that could possibly satisfy me the way Cosima has.”

All heads turn towards Cosima, who reddens.

“Well you obviously have no idea what satisfaction means,” Charity snarls.

“Oh yeah?” Delphine asks and Charity nods. Delphine adjusts her grip on the ball in her hands and whips it with all her might at Charity, hitting her right in the shin, causing her to fall to the ground in pain. “I feel immense satisfaction right now,” Delphine shouts.

Teddy blows the whistle, “Congratulations red team.”

They all run up to Delphine, cheering and patting her on the back. Even a couple members of the blue team, Angie and Sarah Stubbs, are happy she won. Cosima is the last one to congratulate her, “That was incredible.”

“I’m sorry she said those things about you.”

“Eh, I can handle it, she was just taunting you. I knew once she started down that path, she was toast.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, the combination of a pissed off Delphine and a ball in her hands, nobody stands a chance.”

“Teddy, I think she broke my ankle,” Charity whines. Teddy goes over and examines her.

“It’s just bruised. Aynsley, please take her to the nurse to ice it.” Ansley helps Charity up and lets her lean on her as they exit the gym.

The rest of the girls head to the locker room to change, with Cosima keeping Delphine behind. “So, I satisfy you, huh?” Cosima asks with an eyebrow raise.

“Oui, very much so,” Delphine responds.

“I don’t know, I think there’s a lot more satisfying left to do.”

“I’ve been thinking about that.”

“You have?” Delphine nods. “And, uh, what have you been thinking exactly?”

“I’ve been thinking we should get a hotel room on prom night.”

Cosima gulps, “Yeah? You sure?”

“I’m sure,” Delphine emphasizes her certainty with a kiss.

“Oh god, Delphine, now I’m not gonna be able to think about anything else for the next month.”

“Me either.”

They enter the locker room and change out of their gym clothes.

“I have to get to study hall, I have a new student I’m tutoring today, prepping him for his French final. I’ll see you back at home for dinner.

“Okay, bye.” Cosima gives her a kiss and Delphine leaves the locker room.

Cosima sits back down on the bench and leans her head against the lockers. “Holy shit!”

“Oi, Cos, what are you doing? You staying here all afternoon?” Sarah asks.

“Sarah, hey, no, I was just thinking about something.”

“Yeah, like all that gushing Delphine was doing about you, you little stud.”

“Kinda, hey, do you have time to hang out and talk for a bit?”

“I’ve got nothing but time, come on.” Sarah and Cosima walk over to the park across the street from their school and sit down on the swings. “What did you wanna talk about?”

“Sex.”

Sarah nearly chokes, “Bloody hell, Cos. Sex? I don’t need to hear about your exploits with Delphine.”

“No, Sarah, Delphine and I haven’t had sex.”

“What? But she said all that satisfaction shite back there.”

“Well we’ve done stuff, just not the whole shebang.”

“Shebang?” Sarah starts laughing hysterically. “Is that what the girls are calling it these days? Appropriate.”

“Oh god,” Cosima covers her face with her hands.

“Alright, alright, go on.”

Cosima lowers her hands, “Okay so we make out all the time-”

“I’ve noticed,” Sarah interjects.

“Yeah, well while we were in LA we kinda took things a little further,” Cosima points to her own boobs. “Like strictly above the waist stuff. Things got pretty hot a few times, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to go further, but Delphine wasn’t ready, so we stopped.”

“Delphine wasn't ready? I know you haven’t done the deed, but she hasn’t either?”

Cosima shakes her head, “Anyway, she wanted to wait, so of course I was like yeah, totally, we’ll wait. Then I kinda said that I’d seen movies and would know what to do when the time came, but like, they’re movies, it’s all staged. I was kinda just trying to act like I knew what I was talking about and make a joke of it, but now she says she wants us to get a room on prom night and I need your advice. You and Cal have had sex many times, so tell me what to do.”

“Slow down, slow down, I’m pretty sure what Cal and I have done is nothing like what’s gonna go on with you two. Different machinery if you know what I mean.”

“Obvs, but he’s done some things to you that we might do, so just tell me what he does that you like.”

“Oh my god, Cos, this is insane.”

“Please, Sarah.”

“Ugh, fine, fine, but never ask me any of this again and I definitely don’t want a blow by blow when it happens.” Sarah proceeds to give Cosima tips and pointers.

After her tutoring session, Delphine walks down to the track where she spots Beth running laps. As Beth comes around near the bleachers, Delphine waves. Beth stops, “Hey Frenchie, what’s up?”

“Do you have a moment to talk?”

“Only if you’re willing to run with me,” Beth says as she jogs off. Delphine thinks about it for a moment, then runs after her. “Well, it must be important if it can’t wait til later.”

“It could, I just think I’d lose my nerve to ask you about it.”

“Hmm, I’m intrigued, go on.”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to, but I was hoping you’d share your experience with girls.”

Beth stops dead in her tracks, “My what?”

Delphine, who had continued running, stops and jogs back to Beth. “I’m sorry, Cosima may have mentioned you’ve liked both guys and girls.”

“That little-”

“So, it’s true?”

“Yes, it’s true, though it was supposed to be between her and I.”

“She didn’t tell me maliciously. Actually it’s my fault, I asked her about it one night because she had mentioned, when we first got together, that she was jealous thinking you and I were getting close, so one night I casually asked why she’d be worried about that when clearly we all saw you kissing Paul at the party, so you must be into guys, and that’s when she told me. I won’t tell anyone, I swear.”

“I trust you, Delphine,” Beth says as she starts running again and Delphine runs after her.

“So you and Maggie Chen, huh?”

“She told you which girl, too? I’m gonna kill her.”

“Please don’t. If you kill her, then we don’t need to have this conversation.”

“Why are we having this conversation exactly?”

“I told Cosima today that I wanted us to get a room after prom so that we could…” Delphine blushes.

“So you could have sex?” Beth fills in the blanks.

“Yeah,” Delphine responds shyly.

“So you two haven’t yet?” Delphine shakes her head. “Well, that’s surprising considering.”

“Considering what?”

“Considering you’ve been sleeping in her bed for so long.”

“How do you know that?”

“Do you forget I share first period with both of you? I’m not deaf, I’ve heard her say how she hates waking up and you not being there. I kinda put two and two together and got fornication, but I guess not.”

“We have been sleeping together, but not like that.”

“Why not?”

“We’re under her parents’ roof, it wouldn’t be right with them letting me stay there and all.”

“Okay, and when you were on vacation, were you sharing a room with her folks?”

“No, and we did get a little more, well maybe more than a little, familiar with each other on that trip, but I wasn’t ready to get totally familiar.”

“Okay, so now you are and what do you want from me?”

“Well, Cosima says she knows what to do, from the movies, but I haven’t seen any movies like that, so I thought you could help.”

“Help?”

“Tell me some things to do.”

“No way! No. Way.” Beth waves her hands wildly.

“Please, Beth. You’re the only person I can go to about this.”

“No, Delphine, not those eyes. Do not look at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like that,” she gestures at Delphine’s eyes. “Uh, I’m gonna regret this, I know it.”

“You won’t,” Delphine says giddily. “So you and Maggie had sex?”

“Yes. Twice.”

“Did you love her?”

“Love? No. Half the time I wanted to kiss her and half the time I wanted to shoot her. It was complicated, she was complicated. I mean we had to sneak around just to see each other, her family is very religious and would never accept us being together. We would go out under the guise of working on a project or whatever, I mean initially that’s what we were doing, but then it sort of become something more and when we’d say we were working on a project, we were pretty much just working on each other. So, anyway, her parents had planned a trip over winter break, but she told them she couldn’t go, that she had a lot of school work to do, and if there’s one thing they could respect, it was her wanting to do well in school, so they left her behind. I would go over there and we’d fool around and then one thing led to another and we were naked and took things further. Then a couple days later we were naked again, except her parents had decided to come home early and, well, they walked into her room and she wasn’t alone in bed. To say they were mad would be an understatement. I left immediately and next thing I knew, they had pulled her out of school and moved.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks, but I’m okay, I just hope she’s alright. We weren’t in love, like I said. In fact, I think the forbidden part of it all is kind of what made it exciting, for both of us. Her parents were so strict and she just wanted to rebel and I was available to rebel with. It’s not like with you and Cosima, the two of you have something real and when you do the do, it’s going to be because of how you feel in your hearts and not because you’re asshole teens getting a thrill out of an illicit relationship.”

“But the sex, that was good?”

Beth grins, “Yeah, it was.”

“Sooooo?”

“Alright, but keep up, I’m only gonna have this talk with you once,” Beth says as she speeds up and Delphine picks up her pace, listening intently to every word Beth says.

Later that night, as Cosima and Delphine lie in bed, they’re both on their backs, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, thoughts of what Sarah and Beth told them. Finally, after what seems like hours of quiet, Delphine looks over at Cosima. “I’m excited about prom night,” she says softly.

Cosima turns her head towards Delphine, “Yeah, me too.” Cosima takes Delphine’s hand and entwines their fingers, “very excited.”

Delphine smiles and snuggles in close, falling asleep with her head on a grinning Cosima’s shoulder.


	25. One Day More

It’s been four weeks since Delphine asked Cosima to get them a hotel room after prom. Four weeks of their brains thinking of little else except what they’d be doing in that hotel room. They’ve both committed the tips they got from Sarah and Beth to memory. Each separately dreaming of putting that knowledge to use. The thoughts constantly ruminating in their heads often giving way to steamy make-out sessions initiated by one or the other to relieve some of the built up tension.

As the alarm clock wakes them up on this Friday morning, the anxious excitement is palpable, both unable to forget that tomorrow is prom. Tomorrow is the day they will give each other over fully to the other. But that is tomorrow and today is the day most of their terms papers and assignments are due before finals week. When Cosima glances at the clock, she groans, realizing they only got about 3 hours of sleep, having been up most of the night putting the finishing touches on their papers.

“What’s wrong?” Delphine asks.

“We practically just fell asleep and now we have to get up.”

“Whose fault was that?”

“We had a lot of schoolwork to complete.”

“We were done with all that by 2am. We could have gotten 5 hours of sleep. You chose to spend 2 hours making out.”

“That’s not a choice, Delphine. Have you seen how you look when you’re furiously working on an assignment? The way you were chewing on that pencil? Hot. I was kinda jealous of the pencil, to be honest.”

“Are you still jealous of the pencil?”

“No, but I bet the pencil is jealous of me. Am I gonna need a scarf?”

Delphine examines Cosima’s neck. “No, it’s not too bad, maybe just a little bit of concealer. My teeth are not nearly as sharp as yours. Good thing I’ll be wearing a shirt to school today.”

“Says you.”

Delphine hits her with a pillow. Cosima grabs the pillow from her, tosses it to the side, then leans in and kisses the mark she made at the top corner of Delphine’s left breast, just below her armpit. “Better?”

“Much.”

“Good, cause there will probably be a lot more where that came from after tomorrow night.”

“Is that so?”

“Mmmhmm.”

Delphine leans forward, capturing Cosima’s lips in a kiss, then bites down.

“Ouch. What was that for?”

“Hey, two can play that game. I plan on giving as well as I get.”

Cosima laughs. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

“Mon dieu.” Delphine says exasperated after realizing what she said.

“I don’t think that’s the last we’ll hear you say that either,” Cosima winks.

Delphine elbows her in the ribs playfully before getting out of bed and getting ready for school. Cosima slowly following her lead.

They walk into Psychology right as the bell rings. Dr. Bowers stands at her desk collecting their term papers as they walk in.

“So, Doc, do I get extra credit for turning in a paper about the Psychology of Lateness on time?” Cosima asks.

“Actually, you automatically get a failing grade for not handing it in late,” Dr. Bowers responds. Cosima’s mouth hangs open. “I’m kidding, Cosima, but, no, no extra credit for following the rules.”

Cosima pouts, while Delphine and Beth laugh at her.

For English, the students had to memorize and perform one scene from any Shakespeare play with a partner. Alison and Donnie perform the scene from Taming of the Shrew where Kate and Petruchio meet. The class gets a good laugh from their performance, especially when Alison delivers the line _Asses are made to bear, and so are you_.

Cosima and Delphine act out the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, Cosima as Romeo to Delphine’s Juliet. As they declare their love for one another in character, the rest of the class can’t help but feel like voyeurs peeking in on an actual conversation between the two, the passion emanating off of them far too real to be just good acting.

“Thank god it’s Friday, huh?” Beth winks as Delphine takes her seat beside her in Criminal Law. “You ready for tomorrow night?”

Delphine can’t control the huge smile that crosses her face.

“Guess that’s my answer.”

Meanwhile, as Cosima’s students each perform the DNA rap songs they were tasked with writing, she can’t keep her own grin from forming as she thinks about the powerful scene she and Delphine performed and how much it echoes her own feelings of love at first sight when she saw Delphine at her door that first night.

At lunch, the gang is all abuzz about prom night. They all plan on meeting at Cosima’s at 6 and then riding to the prom in Cal’s RV.

“You excited about seeing Cal tomorrow, Sarah?” Cosima asks.

“He’s on his way up here now actually, been texting me whenever he stops to eat or refuel the RV. He should be here by the time school lets out this afternoon. But I am excited. I can’t believe you’ve gotten to see him in person more recently than I have. Skype sex isn’t the same as real sex.”

“Really Sarah, I did not not have to hear that,” Felix groans. “It’s bad enough I have to hear it through the walls of our bedrooms.”

“Shut up,” Sarah smacks him on the head.

Conversation then turns to everyone’s prom dates. Alison is going with Donnie, Beth with Paul, and Art with Angie.

“Damn, Dipshit, I can’t believe you’re going with Angie, I thought you two could barely stand each other,” Beth says.

“Angie isn’t that bad, we just don’t always agree on stuff. But hey, don’t judge, you're the one going with Dierden. Does he even speak or is everything out of his mouth a grunt?”

“Grunts mostly, but that’s cause when we’re together, we hardly talk.”

“Sounds like a wonderful relationship?” Sarah snorts.

“It’s not a relationship, Sarah, it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

“I’m looking forward to dancing tomorrow,” Helena says.

“Who are you going with, Helena?” Alison asks.

“Jesse.”

“Who’s Jesse?” Alison wonders.

“He’s a boy in my auto body class, he’s almost as good at fixing engines as I am. Science puppy helped set us up.”

Alison gives her a perplexed look. “Science puppy?”

“She means Delphine,” Cosima answers with a chuckle.

“I’ve been tutoring Jesse for his French final. He’s seen us at lunch together and asked me about Helena, said he’s had crush on her since he saw her repair a carburetor. Whatever that means. I mentioned him to Helena and she lit up like a Christmas tree, seems the feeling was mutual and then she asked him to prom.”

“Thank you again, Science Puppy,” Helena smiles.

“You’re welcome, Helena.”

“Well I’m going to prom with Colin,” Felix announces.

“Colin, as in Scott’s chemistry partner?” Cosima asks.

“I’d say he and I have more chemistry, but yes, that Colin. He’s an odd duck that one, but quite cute.”

“He asked a sophomore to prom?” Beth says, surprised.

“Hey, Felix Dawkins is not just any sophomore,” Felix says, “I am a catch.”

“Doesn’t he hang out in morgues?” Cosima asks.

“He doesn’t hang out in them, it’s his part-time job, he wants to be a coroner.”

“Creepy,” Sarah shivers. “He just better not lay my little brother out on a slab.”

“He can lay me out anywhere he wants,” Felix grins.

“If he lays you out anywhere, I’m gonna sic Helena on him,” Sarah promises.

“I think you’re all crazy to be going to prom with dates,” Tony says.

“Why’s that, Tony?” Alison inquires.

“Do you know how many broken hearts there are liable to be that night? We’re in high school, there’ll be a lot and I’m gonna be there to pick up the pieces of each and every one of them.” They all laugh at his plan. “Laugh now, but let’s see who’s laughing when Tony’s got a date on each arm before the night is over.”

After lunch, Cosima, Delphine, Felix and Art head to Photography where they have to present their photo essays. Art’s photos of Felix tell the story of an artist at work with various shots of Felix painting. The one with Felix in nothing but an apron, butt cheeks on full display, is a particular favorite of the class.

Felix’s photos of Art present a serious guy, intensely focussed on whatever task he is working on whether he’s presenting a case in Criminal Law, taking photos for this class, or sending a kid to detention as hall monitor.

Cosima is excited to see Delphine’s photos of her as they both refused to show the other their work beforehand. Delphine hangs them up on the wall when it’s her time to present and Cosima is taken aback at the chosen shots. Delphine had taken a lot of photos of Cosima, but these shots, these are ones Cosima either wasn’t aware were being taken or didn't realize were going to be used for this assignment. The first one, taken when they went bird watching, shows Cosima pointing towards a bird in a tree with one hand while the other hand is shaped like a beak as she was imitating its sound. In the second, Cosima is driving, but her hands aren’t on the wheel where they belong, they’re gesticulating wildly. The next was taken on the beach, as Cosima was building the sand castle, her hands full of sand, constructing a turret. In the fourth, Cosima is leaning over the camera, goofy grin on her face as her hands are poised to tickle attack Delphine. And the fifth is Cosima sleeping, but as her face reveals she’s far away in dreamland, her hands are a blur, waving in the air.

“I talk with my hands in my sleep?” Cosima whispers.

“You do,” Delphine says with a smile.

Even in a series of still photos, Cosima’s active hands are a striking focal point, showing that her communication with them is just as vital as communicating with her voice.

Cosima is up next with her photos of Delphine. The first is a picture where Delphine is covering most of her face with her hands in the park after Cosima first told her she looked like a puppy. Her right eye, left corner of her lip and hair are really the only parts of her face visible. The next photo is of Delphine biting her lip in that nervous little way that only she does. In the third, Delphine’s eyes are looking down, not wanting to make eye contact with the camera. In the fourth, half of Delphine is obscured by darkness while the other half is white and bright. In the final photo, she’s sticking her tongue out, presumably at Cosima for wanting to take her picture. Though these seem odd choices for a series of photos representing who someone is, it becomes clear while reviewing them all together that this is the story of a beautiful girl who’s unwilling, or maybe unable, to reveal all of herself, who keeps parts of herself hidden from view or does something silly so her true face is not seen.

“Is that how you see me?” Delphine asks later, as they walk to Chemistry.

“No, I actually see you completely the opposite way, but that’s because we’re together all the time and you’re more open with me, at least when I’m not pointing a camera at you. But that’s how you present yourself to others, maybe even how you see yourself. I know that a lot of that is because you don’t recall your past and you feel that you don’t really know who you are, but I do. When I look at you I see a beautiful, funny, compassionate, brilliant, sexy woman. You just have to let go of your insecurities and let the rest of the world see you, really see all of you. Well maybe not the sexy part, we can keep that between us, but the rest…”

Delphine stops walking, the lack of momentum causing Cosima to stop talking and be yanked back by Delphine’s hand that is firmly holding her own. “Oh, no, Delphine are you pissed about the photos? Look, I’m sorry if you didn’t like them or what I just said but-”

Cosima is silenced by Delphine’s lips pressed against hers, her body pushed up against the lockers.

When Delphine finally pulls away so they can continue to class, Cosima looks at up at her with a smirk, “So you’re not mad then?”

“I am mad, actually. I’m mad about you,” she grins. “I’m also touched by how much you get me, almost like you can see into my soul. And you’re right, I have let my anxieties and unease with not knowing who I am prevent me from fully opening up and being comfortable with myself, but your photo essay and what you just said have convinced me that it’s time I stop worrying about the past and focus on the now, on who I am today and what I want to do tomorrow and the next day and well into the future. I need to stop letting everything I don’t know hold me back. If I want to be an immunologist, then I’ll find a way to make it happen.”

Cosima smiles as they walk into their classroom and head to their lab table, “That’s the spirit. Now, are you ready to present our final project?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

The teams begin their presentations. Scott and Colin go second and do a nice job on their topic of Forensic Chemistry.

The third team wraps up and Cosima and Delphine step up to the front of the class. The topic they have chosen is Medicinal Chemistry, focussing on drugs that help study and treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, ALS, Parkinson's, stroke, and depression, as well as a section of their paper examining the chemical composition of cannabis and its medicinal applications. Their presentation is a hit with the class, especially when Cosima acts out the positive effects of marijuana. They conclude their lecture to applause from the class and Cosima cheekily takes a bow.

“Very nice job, Ms. Niehaus, Ms. Cormier,” Dr. Leekie commends as the girls head back to their table. “I must say, the two of you have proven to be a most excellent team. We may have found our next scientific pairing on par with Watson and Crick.”

“Thank you, Dr. Leekie,” Cosima says. And for the first time in a long time she doesn’t roll her eyes at the man, just sincerely accepts his praise.

“Cosima is an incredible partner,” Delphine replies.

“Ditto. Obvs.” Cosima grins in her girlfriend’s direction.

After school, the gang all meet up in the parking lot to solidify their plans for tomorrow. The reconfirm the 6pm meet-up time at Cosima’s house where they’ll take pictures and then ride to the hotel where prom is being hosted. Just then, an RV pulls into the parking lot.

“Hey, Manning, looks like your chariot has arrived,” Beth points towards the vehicle.

“See ya tomorrow,” Sarah shouts as she runs off towards the RV. The door swings open and Cal appears. He waves to the crew as Sarah pushes him back inside with her mouth on his.

“So I guess we’ll just talk to Cal tomorrow then,” Alison says as they watch the reunion.

“Yeah, when the RV’s a rockin’, you don’t want to go a knockin’, unless you’d like a Sarah sockin’,” Beth jokes.

They all go their separate ways with Cosima leading Delphine to her car and opening the passenger door for her. “After you, Mademoiselle.”

“Thank you, Chérie,” Delphine gets in the car and Cosima gently shuts the door before getting in the driver’s seat. “Why’d you decide to drive this afternoon?”

“I have plans for us.”

“Oh, what sort of plans?”

“You’ll see,” Cosima starts the car and drives off. 30 minutes later, Cosima parks the car and runs around to let Delphine out. She then takes her hand and leads her a block to an old movie theater.

“Are we going to watch a movie?” Delphine asks.

“Excellent deduction, Sherlock,” Cosima teases, causing Delphine to stick her tongue out at her.

“What movie?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” They walk in and are greeted by an usher who walks them to the concession stand where they are handed popcorn and drinks. Then the usher leads them to their seats.

Delphine glances around, “Um, Cosima, why are we the only ones here?”

“It’s a private screening.”

“Private?”

“Yeah, I rented out the theater for us.”

“Cosima, that must have cost you a lot of money.”

“Nah, not really, the owner is a friend of my folks, gave me a good deal. Besides, you’re worth it.”

Delphine gives Cosima a kiss as the lights go dark and the movie begins. The movie opens on a girls’ high school volleyball game during gym class. When the title card comes up, Delphine turns to Cosima, “Carrie?”

“Yeah, it’s the original 1976 version. A real classic. Heads up, though, it’s a bit scary.”

“I’m sure I can handle it.”

Nearly an hour and twenty minutes later, Delphine clutches Cosima’s hand tightly as the bucket of blood pours over Carrie. And when Carrie’s hand shoots out of her grave at the conclusion of the movie, Delphine screams and buries her face in Cosima’s neck causing Cosima to laugh as the credits roll.

“You’re laughing? That wasn’t a funny movie, Cosima.”

“I’m not laughing at the movie, I’m laughing at Ms. ‘I can handle it.’ I think I lost feeling in my hand from you squeezing it.”

Delphine lets go of her hand and gives her shoulder a little push.

“What did you think? I chose it cause of the whole prom motif.”

“That was a good movie, but extremely horrifying. Please promise me our prom will be nothing like that one.”

“I sure hope not,” Cosima giggles. “That would really suck the fun out of the night. You know, getting burnt to death and all.”

“Yeah, it really would.” Delphine agrees.

“Are you ready for the next stop on our date this evening?” Cosima says as she rises and extends her hand to Delphine.

“Ooh, there’s more?” Delphine says as she accepts the hand and stands up.

“There is,” Cosima answers as they exit the theater, thanking the usher on the way out.

They walk a few blocks, stopping in front of a French bistro. Cosima opens the door, “Après vous.”

“Merci,” Delphine steps into the quaint little restaurant, the sound of French music emanating throughout. They are greeted by the Maitre d’. “Niehaus,” Cosima says.

“Ah, yes, right this way.” He leads them to table for two, lit by candlelight.

“This is lovely, Cosima,” Delphine remarks as they sit, looking around at the artwork adorning the walls. “So what prompted this whole evening tonight?”

“Can’t I take my girl out on a fancy date?”

“You can, but your girl is just as happy sitting with you on the couch watching movies and eating take-out.”

“I know, but I just wanted to do something special before tomorrow night. I know prom will be awesome and all, but I kinda wanted to have a nice night out for just the two of us.”

“You’re so sweet, Cosima.” Delphine kisses her hand as the waiter comes to take their order. They quickly peruse the menu.

“I’ll have the Boeuf Bourguignon,” Cosima orders in her best Julia Child impersonation. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

“And I will have the Duck Confit,” Delphine requests. “So was Carrie alive at the end or was that really just a dream?”

“People have interpreted it both ways, but I think she was dead and it was Sue’s guilt, for her part in the bullying that led to the prom night massacre, haunting her.”

“Yeah, that makes the most sense,” Delphine agrees. “I felt bad for Carrie, the way they all treated her, you almost can’t blame her for snapping like that.”

“I bet if you went to that school, you’d have protected Carrie from those bullies.”

“You would have, too, Cosima.”

“I guess we’re both a bit overprotective of our friends or anyone being treated unfairly. Except I pull pranks, like with the electric eel, and you nail people with balls.”

“So are you saying you’re the brains and I’m the brawn?”

“Pretty much. Although your brain is pretty powerful. I definitely don’t have the brawn.”

“I don’t know, I’ve seen your arms, Cosima, they’re quite toned.”

“Have you been checking out my guns?”

“Your guns?”

“My muscles,” Cosima clarifies with a chuckle.

“Oh, oui, I have.”

Cosima blushes as their food is served.

Delphine takes a bite of her dinner, “Mmmm, c’est delicieux.”

“Mine’s damn good, too,” Cosima says as she chows down. “Too bad we can’t order wine. You know, you really should have asked Ramon for a fake ID making you 21, not 17.”

“I didn’t think that far ahead in my criminal activity.”

“Stick with me, kid, I’ll make a bad girl out of you, yet.”

Delphine starts laughing, “Ah, yes, you’re a regular pot smoking, bio-energy farm wrecking rebel. How are you not behind bars by now?”

“I’ve got an excellent lawyer for a girlfriend, she gets me outta tight jams.”

“One criminal law class and I’m a lawyer, huh?”

“You’re the best I’ve got and I have you on speed dial.”

“For you, I’d do my best to keep you out of the slammer.”

“I appreciate that.”

They finish eating, Cosima pays the bill, and they walk back to the car. When Cosima holds open the passenger door, Delphine objects, “No, you get in on this side. It’s my turn to drive.” She plucks the keys out of Cosima’s hand. Cosima gets in and Delphine heads around to the driver’s side.

Delphine drives them past the street they always take to get home. “Uh, Delphine, you missed the turn back there.”

“No I didn’t, we’re not going home yet.” Delphine drives a little further before pulling into a parking lot. “We can’t go home until we’ve had some ice cream,” she says, gesturing towards the ice cream parlor in front of them.

Cosima smiles, “You sure do know the way to my heart.”

They get out of the car and head into the shop. Delphine orders a giant sundae with two spoons. They sit down and dig in. At a certain point, Delphine stops feeding herself and turns her spoon on Cosima, making airplane sounds as she brings the spoon to Cosima’s lips. Cosima opens her mouth and takes the ice cream off the spoon.

“You know, I think the airplane noise is for feeding kids, not trying to serve someone all sexy like.”

“Who said I was trying to be sexy?”

“Oh, well in that case,” Cosima digs her spoon into the sundae, getting a huge chunk of ice cream covered in chocolate sauce and whipped cream on it. She makes exaggerated airplane noises as she weaves the spoon through the air, finally landing at Delphine’s lips, where it is happily accepted.

They play the airplane delivery game for a while til there’s nothing left in the bowl except for some whipped cream and a cherry. Cosima scoops up the whipped cream onto her spoon and guides it towards Delphine’s waiting mouth, however, instead of the intended target, she turns the spoon over and plops the whipped cream on her nose.

“Oops, looks like you got some whipped cream on your nose, let me get that for you.” Cosima leans forward with a napkin in hand, she goes to wipe it off, but at the last second takes Delphine’s nose into her mouth, sucking off the whipped cream, then cleaning the remains with her tongue.

Delphine laughs.

“Oh, you think it’s funny, but it’s snot.”

“Cosima!” Delphine swats her arm.

“Sorry, sorry, no snot.” She points towards the bowl, “You want the cherry?”

“No, you take it,” Delphine picks it up by the stem and dangles it over Cosima’s mouth until her lips part and she pops it off the stem and into her mouth.

“Mmmm. So ice cream was the perfect capper to tonight, thanks.”

“Thank you for such a lovely date.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“Ready for me to take you home?”

“I don’t know, Delphine, don’t you think that’s moving too fast?”

Delphine rolls her eyes, grabs her by the hand and pulls Cosima up. They head to the car and Delphine insists on driving them home. They pull into the driveway and neither moves to get out. They look at one another, both lost in thought.

Cosima finally speaks up, “If we both kinda took the other out tonight, who opens the door?”

“Well, I drove you home and the last part of the date was my treat, so I’ll do the honors.” Delphine gets out of the car, goes around and lets Cosima out. They walk arm in arm into the house, then proceed up to the bedroom.

Cosima is ready for bed first and sprawls out as Delphine finishes up in the bathroom.

When Delphine returns to the room, she finds Cosima humming. She turns off the lights and gets into bed next to her. “Are you humming _One Day More_?”

“Hmmm? Oh shit, I didn’t realize I was audible, just got the song stuck in my head.”

“What prompted that?”

“Nothing,” Cosima says looking away.

“Cosima,” Delphine pulls her face so she’s looking at her again, “tell me.”

“I was just laying here thinking about something I wanted to do and then I realized I’ll be able to do it tomorrow night and that song came into my head.”

“Something you wanted to do?”

“Well, I guess not so much a something as a someone,” Cosima says as she diverts her eyes.

“Oh.” Delphine’s own eyes go wide as realization sinks in, “Oh.”

“I’m sorry, that was inappropriate.”

“Cosima, look at me,” Cosima rolls onto her side so she’s facing Delphine. “I’m fairly certain I’ve been having similar inappropriate thoughts.”

“Yeah?”

Delphine nods and Cosima leans in to kiss her. Delphine reaches her arm around Cosima to pull her closer.

“Delphine,” Cosima says after she’s been moved inwards, “did you just grab my ass?”

“I did.”

“Ok, just checking,” Cosima smiles as she resumes kissing Delphine, her heart swelling.


	26. Prom and Circumstance

It’s 11am, the morning of prom, and Cosima is laying in bed watching Delphine put on her shoes.

“Remind me again why you’re getting ready at Sarah Stubbs’ house?”

“I told you, she asked me to help her with her hair and Alison is doing her makeup. Besides, we can’t get ready in the same house, you’re not supposed to see me in my dress before I’m all ready and vice versa.”

“Delphine, this is not our wedding, this is prom, I don’t think it has rules like that.”

“It does now.”

Cosima groans into her pillow as Delphine grabs her dress bag from the closet, along with her overnight and makeup bags.

“And it’s going to take you all day to get ready?”

“It might. I’ll meet you back here at six with everyone else. I can’t wait to see you in your gown,” Delphine says as she heads towards the door.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Cosima shouts as Delphine’s hand is on the doorknob.

Delphine turns around, “You need something?”

“Uh, yeah, I do. Come here,” Cosima beckons and Delphine walks over to the bed. “You were just gonna walk out like that?”

“How was I walking?”

“No, I meant leave me like that?”

“Yes.”

Cosima makes a pouty face and Delphine laughs.

“Were you messing with me?”

“Maybe,” Delphine smirks as Cosima grabs her hand and gently pulls her down to her level on the bed.

“How about a proper goodbye? Say one that’ll last me,” Cosima glances at the clock, “ugh, 7 freakin' hours.”

“A goodbye that’ll last 7 hours? Hmm. I’m not sure that’s part of my repertoire.”

“I think you can improvise,” Cosima reaches her arms around Delphine’s neck, tugging her closer until their lips meet in a fervent kiss, Delphine shifting to settle on top of Cosima, giving herself a more comfortable angle to operate. They break apart nearly 30 minutes later.

“As much as I like this, I really need to get going. Alison is bringing lunch over and I was supposed to already be there. I’ll see you later.” Delphine gives her one final peck, then gets up and opens the door, “Oh, by the way,” she turns back to face Cosima, “I’m taking your car.” She swiftly turns, closes the door behind her and rushes out of the house before Cosima has a chance to protest.

Not that Cosima would or could protest, cause as soon as she hears the front door close, she jumps out of bed, grabs her robe and heads to the bathroom where she takes a very cold shower.

About an hour later, Cosima’s mom calls her down for lunch.

“So you’re not coming home tonight?” Nancy asks as they eat.

“No, it’ll be a long night, we’re just gonna stay the night at the hotel and come back tomorrow. It would be too crazy with us going in Cal’s RV to have him drive us all home, different people may want to leave at different times.”

“I can come pick you up,” Don offers.

“No, Dad, I appreciate the offer, but it could be real late, you’ll probably be asleep and I wouldn’t want to wake you up and have you drive into the city to get us. It’s fine, really.”

Don and Nancy look at Cosima, then look at each other and start laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Cosima asks, looking from one parent to the other.

“We may be old, but we’re not that old, Kiddo, we know what teenagers often do after prom.”

“Oh god, Dad, stop, do not say another word, I’m begging you.”

“Cosima, what your father is trying to say is that we are aware that you and Delphine are most likely going to be spending the night together in a hotel room after prom having sex.”

Cosima covers her ears, “No, no, no, I really don’t want to hear this.”

“Cosima, if you don’t want to talk about it, maybe you aren’t ready to do it,” Nancy says and Cosima uncovers her ears. “We’re not going to stop you and this isn’t a birds and the bees speech, we already did that when you were 11. We just wanted to make sure you were ready.”

“Oh, I’m ready.”

“And Delphine?”

“Delphine is ready, too.”

“Cosima, I know this may seem different because of the fact that you’re both girls, but you do know that if at any time either of you changes their mind, you must respect that decision, right?”

“Of course, Mom, I wouldn’t do anything without making sure Delphine was cool with it. She means the world to me and if she’s uncomfortable, at any time, we stop.”

“So you’re head over heels for her, huh, Kiddo?” Don remarks. “Not that we didn’t notice how crazy you were for her before, but that look in your eyes right now, that’s different.”

Cosima blushes, “Yeah. She’s just so amazing and sweet and caring and like I just don’t know how I got so lucky that this girl, the girl of my dreams, is really in my life and actually wants to be with me.”

“Cosima, don’t sell yourself short, you’re pretty damn wonderful and she’s lucky to have you, too. And I’m not just saying that cause you’re my child,” Nancy says. “You’re a brilliant girl Cosima, at the top of your class, on the verge of being valedictorian, going to the college you’ve always dreamed about to begin your journey towards earning a PhD and all of those accomplishments make us very, very proud, but watching you the last few months with that smile that’s been plastered on your lips, well, as your parents, seeing you so happy, that’s the most important thing to us, whether its happiness caused by accomplishing your goals or from falling for a girl.”

“I am happy, happier than I’ve ever been, with everything happening in my life.”

“Good. Then your dad and I are happy, too. Now finish your lunch, you've got a prom to get ready for.”

“Mom, I’ve got like five hours.”

“Yeah and knowing you, you still won’t be ready on time.”

“Trust me, I will definitely be on time today.”

————

At 5:30, the doorbell rings.

“Cosima, Scott’s here,” Don yells up to her.

“Come on up, Scotty,” Cosima yells back.

Scott enters Cosima’s room and she turns to face him. “Whoa, Cosima, you look amazing.” She’s wearing a tight, low cut red dress, her dreads are up in a bun, and her eyeliner is winged to perfection.

“Thanks, man, you look very handsome yourself. Powder blue tux, kickin’ it old school, huh? I like.”

“Yeah, it was Sarah’s idea, she really likes the retro style and my dad actually wore this tux when he married my mom. But you, Cosima, you’re gonna knock Delphine’s socks off in that dress. Can you believe we are actually going to prom?”

“No, dude, I was thinking about that earlier and just how much has changed for us in the last few months, it’s insane.”

“Cosima, how did we get so lucky?”

“I don’t know, Scotty, I think it’s Delphine. Since she came into our lives all these incredible things have happened. Her obviously being the single most incredible, but then like you and Sarah, all of it really. If this is a dream, I never want to wake up.”

“It’s no dream, Cosima. Um, can you do me a quick favor?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Can you teach me a few moves?”

“Moves?”

“Dance moves. The only time I ever danced was with Delphine at the party here and that was more like her dancing and me hardly moving my body.”

“Sure, dude.” Cosima opens up iTunes on her laptop and chooses a song. She then takes Scott’s hands. “Alright, just do what I do.” She starts dancing. “Come on, man, move those feet.”

Scott begins to copy her moves. “Good, good. Basically you just gotta let yourself feel the music.” The next song that plays is a slow one, Cosima takes Scott’s hands and places them on her hips, then put her hand on his shoulders. “Ok, this is basic slow dancing, simple, right? Now, let’s try this,” she takes his hands in hers and starts to dance a more traditional, adult slow dance. “Ok, now twirl me like this,” she twirls him and then indicates for him to do the same, “nice, alright, now dip me,” he tips her over. “See man, you’re getting the hang of it. There’s no wrong way to dance, as long as you’re having fun, that’s all that matters.”

“Thanks, Cosima,” Scott says as he brings her upright.

The doorbell rings and Cosima looks at the clock. “Oh man, it’s 6,” Cosima takes a look in the mirror, double checking her makeup and hair. “Alright, dude, let’s go.”

Cosima and Scott head downstairs where Art, Angie, Tony, Beth and Paul are waiting.

“Hey, guys. Wow you all look great.”

“You too, Cosima,” Beth says as they hug.

Cal’s RV pulls up and he, Sarah, Felix, Colin, Helena, and Jesse come up to the house. Everybody compliments one another on their gowns and tuxes.

Finally, Delphine pulls up in Cosima’s car accompanied by Alison, Sarah Stubbs, and Donnie.

Sarah enters the house first and Scott is frozen in place looking at her. “Does someone need to beam you up, Scotty?” Cosima says as she nudges him towards Sarah.

“You, uh, you look very pretty, Sarah,” Scott smiles.

“So do you, um, I mean you look very dashing,” Sarah blushes.

Cosima’s attention is soon diverted from the cute scene as Delphine steps into the house. When Cosima lays eyes on her, it’s as if nobody else in the house exists. Cosima looks her up and down. She’s wearing the black and white color block dress she got the day Cosima took her shopping at the mall. Her hair is done up in a princess roll, her lips are painted a deep red and she has smoky eyes.

Delphine is similarly transfixed, taking in the sight of Cosima in her dress, not failing to notice the copious amount of cleavage on display.

Finally, they approach one another.

“You look beautiful,” Cosima blurts at the same time Delphine says, “Vous êtes belle.” They laugh at their synchronicity, then Cosima leans up to place a chaste kiss on Delphine’s lips.

“I’ve been waiting to see you in that dress again.”

“I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to wear it.”

“I have something for you,” Cosima says as she runs into the living room, then returns with a corsage. She slips it on Delphine’s wrist, “It’s Delphinium, which I guess is sort of the flower I like to get you.”

“I love it, white and purple was a good choice. I have something for you as well.” Delphine reaches into her bag and pulls out a corsage of her own and slips it on Cosima’s wrist.

“Scarlet roses, perfect,” Cosima exclaims as she takes Delphine’s hands in hers and they get lost in each other’s eyes.

“Alright, kids, picture time.” Don ushers them all outside where Nancy has set up her camera on a tripod overlooking their garden.

Nancy takes several large group shots of everyone, followed by couple and individual photos. She spends extra time shooting Cosima and Delphine, who alternate between silly poses and sexy poses.

As everyone boards the RV, Nancy and Don pull Cosima and Delphine aside. “You both look so lovely,” Nancy says as tears form in her eyes and she envelops them both in a hug. “Have a great time tonight.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Cosima responds, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek.

Don gives them hugs, as well. “Do everything I wouldn’t do,” he jokes.

“Oh, we will,” Cosima grins as she takes Delphine’s hand and leads her onto the RV. They both turn and wave at her parents before closing the door.

The 40 minute drive to the hotel is eventful, almost like the party before the party, as Tony cranks up the radio and singing, laughing, and kissing ensues amongst the passengers.

Cal drops them all off in front of the hotel, then goes to park the RV. They notice some of their classmates mulling around the lobby.

“Hey, wait here a sec, I’m gonna check in and take our bags up before we join the party.” Cosima takes Delphine’s overnight bag and heads over to the reception desk, she gets a keycard and hops in the elevator, returning 10 minutes later to a waiting Delphine.

“Alright, shall we?” She extends her hand to Delphine and they proceed into the ballroom.

“This is lovely,” Delphine says as she looks around the room, which is decorated in purple and silver.

“Though I’m loathe to give Aynsley and her minions credit for anything, the prom committee did a pretty good job,” Cosima agrees.

They join their friends who are already seated at a table. They look over the menu as a girl approaches.

“Hi, I’m Jennifer, I’ll be your server this evening.”

“Hello there, sweetness, what’s a girl like you doing waiting on tables, you should be the belle of the ball,” Tony says flirtatiously.

Jennifer smiles, “Thank you, but you know, just doing my job.”

“Wait, aren’t you Jennifer Fitzsimmons? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you at our school’s swim meets, you are an incredible swimmer,” Alison says.

“Yes, that’s me, thank you. I go to Rutledge, well went, we had our graduation last week. I’m working here for the summer before I head to college.”

“Rutledge is an all-girls school. Do they even have a prom?” Tony asks.

“No, they don’t, actually.”

“Well, then please allow me to take you for a spin later this evening, every girl deserves a dance. I’m Tony by the way,” he holds out his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Tony,” she says as they shake hands. “And, about that dance, we’ll see. But right now, I need to take your orders.”

“Smooth, Tony, very smooth,” Cosima says as Jennifer walks away to put their orders in.

“Get a load of Duncan over there with her lap dog, Martin,” Sarah says, pointing towards Rachel, who is seated at a table near the window, while Martin runs off to the punch bowl. “Poor guy will probably be eaten alive tonight.”

“Hello, can I please have your attention,” Aynsley says over the microphone on stage. “I just wanted to welcome you all to the Golden Gate High School Prom. If you have not already placed your dinner orders, there is a menu on your plate and servers will be by shortly. If you have any food allergies, please let your server know and the chef should be able to accommodate you. Tonight’s DJ is Astrid of Club Neolution, please give her a warm welcome.”

Everyone applauds as Astrid waves from her station on the stage.

“Alright everybody, I’ll be back throughout the night to make announcements, but right now the only thing I have left to say is have fun and let’s finish up our senior year in style!”

Everybody cheers as Aynsley leaves the stage and the music starts. Aynsley approaches Chad and drags him to the dance floor. Several other students following their lead.

“I don’t know why she keeps getting back together with Chad, all he does is cheat on her,” Sarah Stubbs notes.

"Well it's not like he's the only one in that relationship that's strayed while they were dating."

"What do you mean, Ali?” Beth asks.

“Oh, just that last winter Aynsley kinda sorta blew the roofer at her parents' cabin in Big Bear."

“Damn!” Tony exclaims.

"Her parents still can't comprehend how they got such a good deal on a new roof,” Alison giggles. She then turns to her date, “Donnie, let’s dance.” He jumps up and accompanies her to the dance floor.

“Come on, Morgy,” Felix says as he pulls Colin up to follow Alison’s lead.

“You wanna?” Cal asks Sarah.

“Are you kidding, Cal? I will not be seen dancing to this song, I’m waitin’ til the DJ finishes with Aynsley’s square freakin’ playlist and pumps out something punk I can actually move to.” Cal laughs at her stubbornness.

After a few more current hits, Astrid changes it up, “Alright boys and girls, for our next song we’re going back in time to the 80s and a Brit rock band known as The Cure.”

“What? The Cure? Come on, if you’re gonna go Brit, you gotta go with The Clash,” Sarah shouts, then heads up towards the stage to have a talk with Astrid.

As the first chords of "Just Like Heaven" start playing, Delphine turns to Cosima with a smile. “Cosima, it’s time.”

“Is it?” Cosima asks.

“It is.” Delphine hops out of her seat and grabs Cosima’s hand. They start bopping their way to the dance floor in time with the beat.

They reach the center of the floor and their dancing picks up in intensity as the vocals begin.

_Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick, “The one that makes me scream” she said. “The one that makes me laugh” she said. Threw her arms around my neck. Show me how you do it and I’ll promise you. I’ll promise that I’ll run away with you. I’ll run away with you._

It’s a fast song and Cosima and Delphine move with wild abandon. Cosima going so far as to act out various lyrics, such as throwing her arms around Delphine’s neck, then spinning and kissing her as the next words are sung:

_Spinning on that dizzy edge. Kissed her face and kissed her head. Dreamed of all the different ways I had to make her glow. “Why are you so far away?” she said. Why won’t you ever know that I’m in love with you? That I’m in love with you._

_Youuuu, soft and only. Youuuu, lost and lonely. Youuuu, strange as angels. Dancing in the deepest oceans. Twisting in the water. You’re just like a dream. You’re just like a dream._

_Daylight licked me into shape. I must have been asleep for days. And moving lips to breathe her name I opened up my eyes and found myself alone, alone, alone above a raging sea. Stole the only girl I loved, drowned her deep inside of me._

_Youuuu, soft and only. Youuuu, lost and lonely. Youuuu, just like heaven…_

“I love-” Delphine begins to say when the song ends.

“That song?” Cosima cuts her off. “Yeah, me too.”

Delphine nods, though she had a different thought in mind.

Ingrid slows things down a bit with the next song, "Live in the Bedroom _,_ " and Cal actually persuades Sarah to dance with him. Well, more like approaches her as she’s having a heated discussion with Ingrid, brushes the hair out of his eyes, extends his hand and she can’t resist, especially since this is a song Cal covers with his band.

Cosima catches Scott’s eye across the room and nods in the direction of Sarah Stubbs beside him, silently urging him him to ask her to dance. Delphine takes note of the subtle action and smiles as she wraps her arms around Cosima, bringing her close as they gently sway.

“Sarah, would you like to dance?” Scott asks.

“I’d love to,” she responds as Scott takes her hand and they make their way towards the dance floor. Scott puts his hands on her waist and she puts her hands on his shoulders. There’s about a foot between them as they move side to side.

Cosima rolls her eyes and dances her and Delphine over until she’s back to back with Scott. “Dude, I could park a truck between you two,” she whispers, “close the gap.” She bumps her butt into his in a not so subtle push towards Sarah. He takes the hint and the gap narrows from a foot to about 6 inches. “Better, but I don’t want to see any space by the time the night is over,” she says in his ear before gliding Delphine back to where they started.

“You’re too much,” Delphine laughs.

“Hey, just trying to give Scotty a push in the right direction. It looks like his last girlfriend didn’t properly prep him.”

“Oh, is that so? So it’s his last girlfriend’s fault he’s not dancing close enough to Sarah for your liking?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you saying this prior girlfriend of his should have gotten this close to him,” she asks looking down at the absence of space between she and Cosima, their bodies practically glued together. “How about this close,” she continues, pressing their lips together. “Is this the kind of closeness you would have liked his last girlfriend to have taught him?”

“You know, on second thought, that girlfriend did all she could with him, he’ll figure it out on his own. But maybe she’d like to give me private instruction on that last bit,” Cosima grins and Delphine wastes little time capturing her lips again.

The music trails off and Aynsley’s voice interrupts their bliss. “Everyone, please return to your tables, dinner is now being served.”

Cosima groans, “This wait staff has terrible timing.”

“Come on, we need to eat,” Delphine begins leading them back to their table. “I have a feeling we’ll need the sustenance for later activities.”

Cosima smiles, “You know what? I’m suddenly famished.”

The servers bring out the food. “So sweetheart, you almost ready for that dance?” Tony asks as Jennifer places his plate in front of him.

“You’re not gonna give up are you?” she asks with a grin.

“Nope.”

“Ok, well I’m on duty, but if you’re still here when I get off at 11, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

“Nice! I won’t leave until then, I can promise you that.”

They all begin to eat. “This I like,” Helena exclaims as she digs into her dinner.

Cosima’s left hand rests on Delphine’s knee, giving it little squeezes throughout the meal. Talk turns to finals week and which exams they’re each dreading. Then Art turns to Cosima, “Have you started prepping your valedictorian speech yet?”

“No way, man, they won’t make the final selection until Friday, I’m not gonna jinx it by writing a speech in advance.”

“Oh come on, Cos, you know you have a lock on it,” Sarah asserts.

“Whatever, when Hardcastle tells me, or tells Raj to tell me, then I’ll worry about a speech.”

“I’m sure if you’re selected, your speech will be perfect, like you are,” Delphine states sweetly.

“Okay, now I’m gonna vomit. Did you have to say that while we’re eating, Delphine?” Sarah gags.

Cosima throws a roll at Sarah, “Don’t blame Delphine for speaking the truth.” Delphine giggles at their display and Cosima gives her girlfriend a tender kiss.

“I’d say get a room, but I’m pretty sure that’s been taken care of,” Sarah snarks and Cosima and Delphine blush.

As dinner winds down, the instrumental music accompanying the meal fades out as Ingrid pumps up the volume on her deck. “Sarah Manning, this one’s for you,” she announces. “Now please give me back my shoe.”

“You took the DJ’s shoe?” Cal asks.

“Hey, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. Let’s go, London’s Calling my name,” Cal and Sarah take the floor.

Their friends laugh and follow suit and they all jump around the dance floor as Sarah shouts the lyrics and Felix happily joins in. Even Rachel seems to be enjoying the song, albeit from her table, but still, she’s tapping her foot along to the beat, so that means she likes it.

However, Rachel’s excitement level jumps even more with the next song. “This one goes out at the request of Rachel Duncan, now please return my other shoe,” Ingrid says as she segues to the next song, R. Kelly’s "Bump N’ Grind." Rachel rises and makes her way to the dance floor, Martin following after her. She dances around him seductively.

Beth is shocked when this is the first song Paul wants to dance to. “What’s gotten into you?”

“This song is hot,” is all he says as they get their groove on.

"Lovefool" is next on the set list, a request of Alison’s and a personal favorite of both her and Cosima, who lip sync the lyrics together as they dance around their amused dates. Delphine getting a kick out of Cosima’s exaggerated face and poses, especially when she drops to her knees as she mouths: _So I cried and I begged for you to love me, love me. Say that you love me. Lead me, lead me. Just say that you need me. I can’t care about anything but you. Anything but you._ She emphasizes the last line by pointing at Delphine.

The next song is "Feels Like I’m in Love" and was requested by Cosima. “Ooh, this is the song from the movie we watched a couple weeks ago!” Delphine exclaims. “Five times, I might add.”

“Yup, _Imagine Me & You_,” Cosima says with a sparkle in her eyes as she twirls Delphine to the center of the dance floor. They then pretend they’re playing Dance Dance Revolution as they recreate the steps from the scene in the movie.

“Oh my god, they’re so gay,” Sarah says to Beth as they both watch the action unfolding before them.

“Yeah, but they are pretty cute together,” Beth adds.

“Yeah,” Sarah relents with a nod and a grin, “they really are.”

Cosima and Delphine expertly recreate the dramatic sigh, then continue the moves before doing the back to back shimmy, grabbing each other’s hands and twirling one another simultaneously so they’re face to face once again. They continue dancing and, when they run out of steps from the movie, they repeat their earlier ones, throwing in a few improvised actions as well. The most adorable improvised bit being when Kelly Marie sings, _My heart it beats like a drum_ , and both of them put their hands over their hearts and pound on their chests along to the rhythm of the sound effects, never breaking eye contact.

When their routine comes to an end, they high five and hug as their friends cheer their performance. Out of breath, Cosima and Delphine head back to their table, sitting out the next couple of songs, which are lame requests from Charity and Meera anyway. Only Jesse and Helena remain from their table, slow dancing to the cheesy tunes.

It’s not until Helena notices dessert being served out of the corner of her eye, that she stops dancing and returns to the table. They all indulge in the array of sweet treats presented to them.

“Are you having a good time?” Cosima asks Delphine.

“Oui, this is a lot of fun. Are you?”

“Are you kidding? I get to dance all night with the hottest girl in this room, no, wait, hottest girl in the world, I’m having a ball.”

“The world? I’m pretty sure you haven’t seen every girl in the world,” Delphine says.

“I don’t need to see them all to know that none of them could hold a candle to you. Nor would they be as incredible a person as you are.”

“I know someone that fits that bill.” Delphine insists.

“Impossible. Who?”

“You.”

Cosima blushes, then lifts the hand in hers, kissing it gently.

“Sugar, Sugar,” Helena yelps as the song of the same name begins to play and she drags Jesse back to dance. Everyone, now full of renewed energy thanks to their sugar highs, follows their lead.

The excitement and feverish dancing continues with the next several songs; "Love Is All Around," chosen by Donnie, followed by "Head Over Heels," a Felix favorite. The ladies of the senior class take to the floor in droves as the next two power anthems play. First up "Bitch," another Alison request, followed by "Bad Girls," Beth and Sarah’s mutual selection. They rock out hard as M.I.A’s voice fills the room.

Rachel approaches Sarah as the song ends. “I hope you aren’t too tired out from that song, because I demand you all perform the next number with me, like we did in the 5th grade talent show.”

“Wow, Rachel, are you getting sentimental as high school comes to an end?” Sarah ribs her. “You’ve hardly spoken to any of us since we were 10.”

“Yes, well, I don’t want to speak, I want to sing,” Rachel says with a tight lipped smile.

Sarah grumbles, “More like we sing and you hardly do.” Rachel glares at her. “Fine, fine, whatever. Hey, Beth, Helena, Alison, come here.” The girls walk over. “So Rachel has oh so kindly asked if we would recreate our number from the 5th grade talent show with her and I’ve generously agreed. So what do you say?”

Alison and Helena are more than happy to do it and all eyes turn to Beth. After a slight hesitation on her part as the others stare, she relents, “Oh fuck it, I’m in.”

Rachel looks towards Ingrid and gives her the thumbs up.

“Oh my god, this is gonna be epic,” Cosima tells Delphine giddily as the music starts.

 _Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want, (Scary Spice - Helena)_  
_So tell me what you want, what you really really want, (Ginger Spice - Sarah)_  
_I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want, (Scary)_  
_So tell me what you want, what you really really want, (Ginger)_  
_I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha. (Scary)_

 _If you want my future forget my past, (Sporty Spice - Beth)_  
_If you wanna get with me better make it fast, (Baby Spice - Alison)_  
_Now don't go wasting my precious time, (Scary)_  
_Get your act together we could be just fine (Ginger)_

 _I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want, (Scary)_  
_So tell me what you want, what you really really want, (Ginger)_  
_I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha. (Scary)_

_They continue like this, trading lines and singing in character, all except Rachel who traipses around the floor posing, but doesn’t solo til the 2nd to last refrain._

_If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (gotta get with my friends), (All)_  
_Make it last forever friendship never ends, (All)_  
_If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give, (All)_  
_Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is. (All)_  
_If you wanna be my lover, (All)_  
_You gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta, slam, slam, slam, slam (Posh Spice - Rachel)_

 _Slam your body down and wind it all around. (Posh and Baby)_  
_Slam your body down and wind it all around (uh uh). (All)_  
_Slam your body down and wind it all around. (All)_  
_Slam your body down zigazig ah (Scary)_

_If you wanna be my lover. (All)_

Everybody in the room claps as they conclude the performance. The “Spice Girls” all hug one another, even Rachel, who manages a smile.

“Why weren’t you a part of that number?” Delphine asks Cosima.

“Rachel is a far better Posh than I,” she jokes. “Now had there been a Nerdy Spice, I woulda been in like Flynn. But, actually, Scotty and I performed together in that talent show.”

“Really? What did you two do?”

“Don’t laugh, but we performed "She Blinded Me With Science." My dad put us in lab coats and provided props, it was geek chic at its finest.”

“That sounds adorable, I would have loved to see that,” Delphine smiles. “Do you remember the performance?”

Cosima looks at Delphine quizzically for a moment, “No! No way!”

“Oh, come on. Please. For me.” Delphine gives her the puppy dog eyes.

“What the hell? Why is prom turning into a talent show?” Cosima groans. “Ugh, Delphine, you’re killing meeeee.”

Cosima wanders over to Scott and whispers in his ear. He nods and they walk over to Ingrid. They talk with her for a couple minutes. “Alright, we have another treat for you all,” Ingrid announces. “Give it up for Cosima and Scott.”

Before they start, Cosima looks towards Delphine and speaks into the mic, “We haven’t done this in quite some time, but we’d like to ask a very special guest to join us tonight, someone who’s been blinding me with science since she rang my bell. Uh, doorbell, that is. Delphine, would you please join us up here?”

Delphine tentatively approaches them, “Um, Cosima, what do you want me to do?”

“Just stand there and look at us seductively. So, basically, just act normal.”

“Shut up.”

Cosima sings the lyrics directly to Delphine as she circles round her, with Scott adding the mad scientist spoken bits:  
_It's poetry in motion_  
_She turned her tender eyes to me_  
_As deep as any ocean_  
_As sweet as any harmony_  
_But she blinded me with science (she blinded me with science)_  
_She blinded me with science_  
_And failed me in biology_  
_When I'm dancing close to her_  
_(Blinding me with science - science)_  
_I can smell the chemicals_  
_(Science)_  
_(Science)_

It’s all cute and funny, until Cosima gets to a lyric she had completely forgotten about, as it didn’t mean as much to 10 year old her as it does now.

 _It's poetry in motion_  
_And now she's making love to me_  
Cosima blushes as she sings this to Delphine, before regaining her composure and finishing the song.  
_She blinded me with science. (She blinded me with science)_  
_She blinded me with…_

Cosima and Scott bow to the applause, then they point in the direction of Delphine, who gets hoots and hollers despite the fact that she was, for all intents and purposes, a prop. But a hot prop, as Cosima makes clear when she takes her hand and pulls her close as they dance to You Don’t Own Me.

“You see, you were an essential part of that performance.”

“Oh yes, Cosima, you couldn’t have done it without me,” she says in jest.

“I couldn’t, seriously, you’re my muse. I only wanna make crazy science with you.” Cosima reaches her hand behind Delphine’s head and softy pulls her down into a kiss.

They’re interrupted, again, by Aynsley’s voice. “It is now time to reveal our prom king and queen.” Everyone gathers at the foot of the stage. “Can I have the envelope please?” Meera comes forward and hands it to her.

“Ok, our 3 finalists for queen are, Aynsley, oh look, it’s me,” she grins. “The next finalist is Charity Reynolds.” Charity happily takes the stage. “And our 3rd finalist is Sarah Stubbs,” she says it almost like a question as Sarah lets out a delighted screech and hurries to the stage.

“Wow, okay. Now for our king, the 3 finalists are Chad Norris, Paul Dierden, and Scott Smith.”

“What the what?” Scott stammers.

“Go on, Scotty,” Cosima yells, giving him a little nudge before he heads to the stage.

“Since I’m a finalist, I will have Meera announce the winners.”

Meera takes the microphone. “Are you ready?” she shouts as she opens the envelope. “The king and queen of the prom are… Scott Smith and Sarah Stubbs.”

Aynsley and Charity, both confident they would win, stand there with their jaws on the floor as Sarah jumps up and down before rushing to hug Scott who is in complete and utter shock. Chad had stepped forward, sure he was going to win, only to have to step back in embarrassment when he realizes he didn’t.

“Yay Scotty!” Cosima cheers as Delphine whistles loudly and the rest of their friends applaud wildly. Meera places the crowns on their heads.

“Scott and Sarah, please take the floor for your celebratory dance,” Ingrid requests as she cues up Lorde’s Royals.

Scott takes Sarah’s hand and leads her to the floor. He bows, she curtsies, then they rejoin hands and dance. Scott really gets into it, using the moves Cosima showed him earlier, stepping up to better match Sarah’s dancing prowess and even pulling her real close several times. Scott’s friends form a circle around the royal couple and dance around them. When the royal dance concludes, they break off into their couplings and dance to the next song, while Delphine pulls Cosima off to the side.

“You wouldn’t have had anything to do with that outcome would you?” she asks.

“Delphine, what are you implying?” Cosima asks innocently.

“Oh, that it couldn’t have worked out any better to have Aynsley, Charity, and Chad up there and lose to Scott and Sarah.”

“That was pretty priceless. Did you see their faces?”

“Cosima!”

“Fine, Tony and I may have switched out the ballots after school the other day.”

“Cosima, you denied the true winners their time to shine.”

“I don’t think they’d mind.”

“You know who really won?”

“Yeah, Tony and I counted the ballots, just in case the winners were actually Scott and Sarah, then we’d have restuffed with the real stuff. Do you wanna know who won?”

“No.”

“Oh, come on, you totally wanna know.”

“No, I don’t,” she maintains and Cosima just stares at her. “Ugh, okay, who won?”

“Us.”

“What do you mean ‘us’?”

“Delphine, I know you’re French, but I thought you knew what _us_ meant.”

“Me and you?”

“You do know, hurray!” she jokes.

“Cosima, how can that be?”

“I dunno, but on the ballot they had to select a king and queen and a majority put you as queen and then crossed out king and wrote queen again and put my name down. Seriously, I just edged out Paul by like 10 votes. Scott actually placed 3rd. You were the winner by a super wide margin, though.”

“Wait, so you and I won and you decided not to give us the glory of that victory and instead gave it to Scott and Sarah?”

“Uh, yeah,” Cosima admits, her eyes shifting to face the ground as she feels bad now for denying Delphine her crown.

“You are unbelievable,” Delphine states. And suddenly Cosima’s feeling of guilt is replaced by another feeling altogether as Delphine grabs her face and pulls her into a very passionate kiss.

“Delphine Cormier, it’s time.” Astrid announces from the stage.

Delphine releases Cosima’s lips and pulls a confused Cosima to the edge of the dance floor. “Wait here,” Delphine whispers in her ear before taking the floor.

Delphine lets her hair down as "Navvaatara" by Elisapie Isaac begins to play. She starts to dance, stretching her right arm to the side then moving it in front of her in time to the music, her palm facing out and hips moving seductively to the beat, she then turns her palm over and glides her arm back to the side. Her arm then returns to the center, outstretched, as her left joins in to match the movements. All the while, she maintains eye contact with Cosima. Suddenly, Alison and Sarah Stubbs flank her on her left and right sides and begin to mimic her actions. It’s almost as if Delphine is a ground controller directing an airplane with the way she moves her arms and hands forward and backwards, side to side. But a very, very sexy and seductive ground controller. Cosima is completely captivated. Delphine’s movements get hotter and hotter as she changes the direction of her arms, stretching to the sky, then bringing one hand to her eyes, tilting her head back slightly in the process, before both hands trace the contours of her body. After several sexy hand flourishes, Delphine crosses her arms across her chest and bends at the waist before flipping her hair back as she stands up straight again. It’s then that Cosima can’t stop herself from approaching Delphine. She gets behind her, her front flush to Delphine’s back. She takes Delphine’s hands and stretches their arms out wide while her hips sway in sync with Delphine’s. She then slowly brings her lips to Delphine’s neck, placing open mouthed kisses along the salty, exposed skin.

“That was hot,” Cosima whispers in her ear. “When did you have time to rehearse that?”

“Sarah, Alison and I practiced this afternoon. We didn’t really need 6 hours to get ready for tonight. I wanted to surprise you.”

“I am very surprised,” Cosima spins Delphine in her arms so they’re face to face. “You’re constantly surprising me.” Cosima tenderly strokes Delphine’s cheek. “That dance, oh my god, you are so sexy.” She pulls herself up and into Delphine for another heated kiss. “Do you wanna get out of here?” Cosima asks breathlessly as they separate.

“I do.” Cosima takes Delphine’s hand and leads her off the dance floor and towards the exit, they pass Tony dancing with Jennifer and he and Cosima exchange smiles. They head thorough the lobby hand in had and get on the elevator where Cosima pushes the button for the 21st floor. They take advantage of being alone in there, kissing as it ascends.

“Hold on a sec,” Cosima says as they reach room 21B. She walks in, pulling out her lighter. After about a minute, she returns to Delphine, “Alright, come on in.”

The lights are dimmed and the room is lit with candles; rose petals trail from the door to the king size bed in the center of the room, where they are laid out in the shape of a heart atop the white comforter.

“Cosima, you did all of this?”

“Yeah.”

“This is so romantic.”

“I wanted this night to be special for you.”

“It is, it’s very special. You’re special, Cosima.” Delphine takes Cosima’s face in her hands and kisses her as they move towards the bed. The backs of Cosima’s legs hit the edge of the bed and she sits down. Delphine follows, wrapping her legs around Cosima’s waist and settling in her lap, their lips never losing contact. Cosima’s hands begin to wander until they reach the zipper of Delphine’s dress, she hesitates until Delphine groans against her lips, “Take it off.”

Cosima slowly lowers the zipper as she’s hit with the memory of the last time she lowered Delphine’s zipper on this dress in the fitting room during their shopping trip. She can’t help shaking her head at the realization of how far they’ve come.

Once the zipper is down, Delphine stands and lets the dress drop to the floor. She wasn’t wearing a bra and is now exposed except for a pair of lacy black underwear. Cosima licks her lips and reaches for Delphine, who backs up.

“Uh uh,” Delphine tsks, “not until you are out of that dress.”

Cosima jumps up, now standing on the bed, and quickly disrobes until she, too, is in nothing except a red thong. They stare at each other, Delphine looking up at Cosima, not quite looking into her eyes. “Hey, you gonna stand there looking at my boobs or do something about it?” Cosima jokes.

Delphine finally makes eye contact and briefly sticks her tongue out before climbing onto the bed and standing up there with Cosima. Delphine surges forward, capturing Cosima’s lips and backing her up to the headboard as they kiss, Delphine’s hands move between them to grab at Cosima’s breasts while Cosima’s hands tangle in golden curls, keeping Delphine’s face close to hers.

Delphine begins to lower herself, kissing along Cosima’s neck, down her chest, paying lip service to her right breast then her left until she’s on her knees and kissing Cosima’s abs. Cosima drops down to her own knees, cups Delphine’s cheeks and tenderly kisses her lips. “Lay down,” she whispers and Delphine slides onto her back, hair splayed out on the pillow.

Cosima settles on top of her and brings her mouth to Delphine’s, placing a soft kiss to her lips before peppering kisses along her jawline, then moving to her neck where she kisses and sucks at her pulse point. She then continues laying a path of kisses down her chest, until her tongue flicks out to lick at an already excited left nipple, while her hand cups at her right breast and her fingers rub the nipple there. When she’s sure she’s paid enough attention to Delphine’s breasts, she kisses a down her stomach, her hands gripping at Delphine’s hips as she stops to lick at her belly button, eliciting giggles from the blonde that her ears craved. She then kisses along her panty line before stopping and looking up at Delphine.

“Delphine?” Delphine looks down at her, her teeth working at her bottom lip, and she nods.

“You sure?” Cosima asks.

“I’ve never been so sure about anything,” Delphine responds softly and Cosima’s hands move to grip the waistband of Delphine’s underwear, gently lowering them, her heart racing as she uncovers blonde curls before pulling the fabric down Delphine’s legs and dropping them to the floor. She then stands there for a few seconds, taking in the sight of a naked Delphine laid out on the bed. She swears she feels her heart stop completely until she hears Delphine call out to her.

“Cosima?” She meets Delphine’s eyes and Delphine glances down to Cosima’s underwear then back up to Cosima’s eyes. Taking the hint, Cosima lowers her thong down her legs until she’s on full display in front of Delphine. “Come here,” Delphine coaxes with a finger.

Cosima begins to approach, then stops and moves to the iPod dock, pressing play before continuing towards Delphine.

“You made a playlist?” Delphine asks as music begins to fill the room.

“I did.”

Delphine listens as the first song plays. “La Petit Mort?” Delphine laughs.

“What’s so funny? Don’t you like this song? I saw you had added it to my iTunes.” Cosima asks as she crawls back onto the bed.

“I do like it, I like it a lot, but it’s just the title.”

“Oh shit, it mean little death, doesn’t it? Is it a really depressing song? I thought it sounded pretty.”

“It’s not that, I mean it is a sad song, but a beautifully sad song. It’s just that the title is often used as a euphemism.”

“Oh, yeah? For what?” Cosima asks as she straddles Delphine’s waist.

“Orgasm.”

Cosima eyes widen, “Oh, wow. Okay, well that’s surprising.” Her eyes then get a mischievous glint in them. “Though I can assure you, all orgasms tonight will be anything but petit.”

Delphine gasps and then reaches for Cosima’s neck, lowering her head until their lips fuse together in an intense kiss. “You’re so beautiful,” Delphine whispers as her hands travel down Cosima’s back.

“And you are absolutely gorgeous,” Cosima hisses as she feels Delphine’s hands squeeze her ass. Cosima braces herself on her left arm as her right hand trails down Delphine’s stomach, stopping when she reaches curls and gently petting the growth there before very tentatively traveling south and eliciting a gasp from Delphine as her fingers begin to rub circles against her clit. When she feels Delphine getting sufficiently worked up, she moves her fingers along her folds, delicately inserting one digit, then another, as Delphine moans at the contact. She then begins pumping her fingers, curling them experimentally, gauging Delphine’s reaction. As Delphine rocks her hips into her hand, Cosima increases the speed of her fingers and the pressure of her palm against the blonde’s clit.

“Cosima,” Delphine calls out as she gets closer and closer to the edge.

“Hmmm?” Cosima hums as she licks and kisses at her neck.

“I, uh, merde,” she yells as she tightens around Cosima’s fingers. “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Cosima removes her lips from Delphine’s neck and raises her head to look Delphine in the eyes, her hand still working at her furiously.

“Je t’aime,” she cries out as she climaxes, pulsating around Cosima’s fingers.

Cosima smiles and leans in, hovering her mouth an inch from Delphine’s. “I love you, too,” she declares with fervor before kissing her sensually, swallowing the remainder of the blonde’s moans as she comes down from her high.

Delphine is panting as Cosima lowers herself off her left arm and collapses onto the mattress, her mouth suckling at the blonde’s right shoulder. Delphine turns her head towards Cosima. “You do?” she asks.

“Do what?” Cosima mumbles.

“Love me?”

Cosima releases her shoulder and looks up into Delphine’s eyes. “Are you kidding? I love you so much it hurts, but like a good hurt, you know? The kind of ache that reminds you you’re alive. I feel it every time I look into those big, beautiful eyes of yours. I’ve wanted to tell you for a while, but I didn’t want to freak you out.”

“How long have you felt that way?” Delphine asks.

“Honestly?” Delphine nods. “I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you since I opened my door and, in my pot induced haze, assumed you were a figment of my imagination. I thought, there’s no way I’m actually looking into the eyes of an angel. But, sure enough, you were real. And I knew I was a goner right then and there. I know I told you that I liked you at that moment, but, if I’m being completely honest, it was love. Like I never thought about love at first sight before and then yesterday when we were doing that scene from Romeo and Juliet, it hit me. Just like Romeo, when I saw you that night, something inside of me just knew. My heart hung up a no vacancy sign; you took up permanent residence and there was no room for anyone else in there. And, obviously, I knew I was totally into you and was acting like a jealous moron there for a while, but I think the moment my head acknowledged I loved you was after my house party, when it was just you and I left in the living room and you told me that you had checked on me at 3am and removed my glasses and covered me with a blanket. That was when my head and heart collided and all the dopamine in my brain just like exploded with disgusting amounts of love for you.”

Delphine laughs. “So what about you, when did you know you loved me?” Cosima asks, poking her in the side playfully.

“Oh, just now. I guess orgasms bring that out of me.”

Cosima stares at her incredulously.

“I’m kidding. I actually tried to tell you downstairs after Just Like Heaven.”

“When I thought you were saying you loved the song,” Cosima realizes and smacks herself in the head.

“It’s okay. I stopped myself a lot of times because I thought you’d be the one to freak,” Delphine laughs. “I obviously have been crazy about you for a while, and like you, I think it was love at first sight, but when I was certain that I loved you was opening night of Les Miz, when you came to me and talked me out of my anxiety attack. First of all, that you somehow heard me saying polonium, despite the noise in the auditorium, was astonishing in itself, and that you rushed to be with me and just the tender way you took care of me. I could feel my heart burst and for a moment I thought I was having a heart attack, but then I realized no, that wasn’t a heart attack, that was my heart attaching itself to yours, like this magnetic pull. And every time we’re together my heart races cause it just wants to be near you.”

Cosima smiles broadly then sings softly, “My heart it beats like a drum.” They both simultaneously pat their hearts while doing the “pew, pew” sound effect. “It feels like, it feels like I'm in love,” Cosima continues as Delphine leans in and kisses her.

Before Cosima knows what’s happening, Delphine has rolled on top of her. She starts kissing and nipping her way down Cosima’s body before settling between her legs. “Uh, Delphine?” Cosima calls out just before she gasps as Delphine’s tongue licks at her experimentally. “Holy shit!” she exclaims and Delphine chuckles against her clit before turning serious and continuing what she started. Cosima writhes in pleasure and Delphine has to hold her legs down firmly as she continues her ministrations. “Oh! My! God!” Cosima screams as she explodes in ecstasy against Delphine’s tongue several minutes later.

“Delphine, where did you learn how to do that?” Cosima finally asks as she comes down from her high and Delphine returns to her side, snuggling up against her.

“From Beth.”

Cosima immediately sits up and looks at her, wide-eyed, “Excuse me?”

Delphine laughs, “No, not like that. I went to her for advice and she told me some tricks to try.”

“Oh, well, in that case, remind me to thank her.”

“You were pretty amazing too, Cosima. Did you learn all that from the movies?”

“Not really, I may have kinda asked Sarah for advice myself.”

Delphine giggles, “I guess we both wanted to get this just right, huh?”

“Yeah, and I think we did, we really fucking did,” Cosima exclaims as she captures Delphine’s lips, moaning into her mouth as she tastes what she realizes is her own arousal. They continue kissing and exploring each other’s bodies for a while longer until exhaustion overtakes them both and they fall asleep, their sweaty, naked bodies entangled.

It’s 3:24am when Delphine is startled awake by thunder. She yelps as a loud boom pulsates through their room.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Cosima asks with concern.

“Sorry, the thunder woke me up, it sounds like a really bad storm.” Delphine is trembling.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry, it’s fine,” Cosima sits up and wraps her arms around Delphine. “I’m right here,” she assures as she places a tender kiss to the tip of her nose just as a flash of lightning illuminates their room.

“Au revoir,” Delphine suddenly says.

“What?”

“Au revoir. You said that to me before you kissed my nose.”

“No I didn’t, I said I’m right here.”

“No, not now, Cosima,” Delphine looks her right in the eyes, “before.”

“Before?” Cosima’s mind races, trying to recall if she ever said that, when it hits her. “Oh shit!”

Delphine’s eyes fill with rage, “I remember.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dance Delphine does to the song Navvaatara is taken from Evelyne's dance scene in Café de Flore. I tried to describe it as best I could, but if you haven't seen that scene yet, I suggest you check it out on YouTube or go watch the movie on Netflix :) 
> 
> Oh, and sorry for the ominous end to this chapter, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.


	27. The Naked Truth

Cosima swallows, her mouth as dry as the Sahara, “You remember what exactly?”

“I remember you holding me in your hand, saying au revoir, kissing me on the nose, then placing me on some sort of metal surface. After that, there was a blindingly bright light and I ended up on your porch. Except before I wound up at your door, I was about a foot tall.” Delphine says all this unblinking, almost staring Cosima down, daring her to try to lie her way out of this.

“Oh.”

“Oh? Is that all you have to say?” Delphine laughs, but not from amusement, from irritation.

“I can explain.”

“You can explain? Really? After all these months of deceiving me, now you can explain? You want to explain to me how you somehow neglected to tell me that I was a doll? Oh my god, I was a doll.” The realization of what she’s saying hits Delphine hard and she brings her hands to her head in disbelief.

“Yes, you were a doll, you were my doll, and then suddenly you were, well, you. This isn’t exactly a common occurrence and I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“So you thought instead of telling me the truth, you would just convince me I had amnesia? You let me have this false hope that I would remember my family, my life in France…” She shakes her head. “I’m not even from France. That box, the one under your bed, I knew it was familiar, I just didn’t know it was because I lived in it.”

Cosima nods. “I wanted to tell you. I almost told you that first night, but Scott thought you’d freak out and take off-”

“Scott? Scott knows?” Delphine interrupts with a shout, before realizing the obvious. “Of course he does, he was there with you. Who else knows?”

“Nobody.” Delphine looks at her skeptically. “I swear, Delphine, only he and I know.”

“So Scott tells you not to tell me and what, that’s it? From then on it’s just let’s keep Delphine in the dark? Since when do you do what Scott says anyway? You’re usually the one telling him what to do.”

“Come on.”

“No, you come on, Cosima. I want you to tell me why you felt it was okay to lie to me. About everything.”

“Not everything. That was the only thing I was dishonest with you about.”

“Wow, let’s give you a medal. The only thing you lied about just so happened to be the one thing I’ve been struggling with. And you knew how frustrated I was that I couldn’t remember, that without knowing my past, it would make it hard for me to have any sort of future.”

“Yeah and I knew if I told you, it wouldn’t make it much better.”

“For who? For me or for you?”

Cosima looks down, unable to face Delphine’s angry eyes, “For both of us I guess.”

“You guess?” Delphine scoffs. She then gets out of bed and grabs her bag off the arm chair.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m getting dressed. I’m not continuing this conversation in the nude.” Delphine throws on a t-shirt and sweats. Cosima stays on the bed, wrapped up in a sheet, watching her. “Talk.”

“What?”

“I want you to tell me everything that led to me becoming human.” Delphine sits down in the chair, crosses her arms over her chest, and glares at Cosima.

“Um, okay,” Cosima clears her throat, “I got you, well the Science Barbie that later became you, from Helena for my 8th birthday. And I was never one to play with dolls before, but there was just something special about this one. One day I sort of gave it, you, ugh, this is so strange.”

“Keep going,” Delphine says sternly.

Cosima takes a deep breath before continuing. “One day I gave the doll a makeover, cut her hair, changed her eye color, added some freckles, started calling the doll Delphine and created this story that she was from France. It hit me afterwards that I had basically designed my dream girl, this beautiful, brilliant scientist. So, from then on, I would carry the doll around, talk to her, play with her. We’d watch movies, have tea parties, I’d tell her how my day went and all my hopes and dreams for the future.” Cosima pauses with the slightest hint of a smile on her lips and meets Delphine’s eyes, “Kinda like how it is with us now, minus the tea parties. Guess it shoulda been coffee.”

Delphine doesn’t respond, just continues to stare and wait for more of the story, so Cosima continues. “Eventually, I couldn’t bear to have the doll sitting on my shelf anymore, just a constant reminder of the girl that would never be, the girl that I would never have, so shortly after I turned 16, I put her back in the box and into the closet. But she never left my mind. As weird as this sounds, I think part of the reason I couldn’t make it work with Bobby is because I’d compare her to my doll. The only science Bobby was into was mixology, but Delphine, the doll, I could talk to her about chemistry experiments and she’d get it, I mean she just looked like she got it, you know? That night, the night you came to be, well Scotty and I were talking about prom and he asked who my ideal prom date would be and I told him about this doll. Ironic, given our current situation. Anyway, he wanted to see her, so for the first time in nearly two years, I took the doll out of my closet. And seeing her again, it brought back all those old feelings. Afterwards, we went down to the lab and we were messing around with my dad’s new machine, the one that prolongs the freshness of fruit and vegetables, but at the time, I didn’t know what it did. I decided to test out the machine on the doll and, well, right at the moment I shot the laser beam, there was a lightning strike. Next thing I knew, the doll was gone, then the doorbell rang and the rest is history.”

“If I, the doll me, was so special to you, why’d you zap me?”

“I was high and I thought at that moment that it would be some symbolic way to erase this weird crush I had on my doll. But as soon as it was over, and you had disappeared, I was devastated, like I literally had tears rolling down my face because I thought I had lost you forever. And then somehow you were at my door and you were real and you were everything I had ever dreamed about. That day, Delphine, that was the single greatest day of my life. The day you came into it, the Delphine that's in front of me right now.”

“The Delphine you lied to for months. The Delphine you never planned on telling the truth to.”

“I wanted to, but I was scared. I was scared of how’d you react. I was scared of losing you.”

“Oh, poor you. You were scared. How about me? How about how scared I was not knowing who I was? And you can say you wanted to tell me and Scott thought it would be a a mistake or whatever, but I wasn’t living with Scott. I wasn’t sleeping next to Scott every night. It wasn’t Scott that I was kissing and dreaming about a future with.”

“I know, okay? I’m not blaming Scott, I know this was my responsibility and I should have told you, but how do you even explain all this without sounding crazy?”

“You’re doing it now.”

“Yeah,” Cosima hangs her head. “Anyway, I don’t know how or why you came to be, if some weird combination of the laser beam and the lightning strike caused this, but after a while I stopped questioning the impossibility and embraced the actuality. You were you and you were real.”

“And you used me. Like I’m just some kind of sex toy. Something for you and your friend to play with, to mold, to use to make yourselves popular.”

“No. That’s never how it was. And sex toy? Really? Don’t forget who kissed who first here, Delphine. I may have been totally smitten with you, but I wasn’t going to act on it. You did, you’re the reason we’ve come this far. I let you set the pace of this relationship, I never pressured you to do anything you weren’t comfortable with.”

“But I didn’t have the facts, did I? I only knew what you allowed me to know. I didn’t know that you were a liar.”

“Yes, fine, I’m a liar, okay? Is that what you want to hear? I, Cosima Niehaus, am a liar. Does that change the way you feel about me?”

“Yes,” Delphine states simply, resolutely.

Cosima deflates, “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Delphine laughs. “Don’t you think it’s a little late for sorry?”

“I’m sorry for hurting you, Delphine. For lying to you. But I am not sorry that I somehow accidentally made you real, that you are a living, breathing, extraordinary human being. And I am not sorry that we happened, I will never be sorry about that.”

“Of course not, you got everything you wanted.”

“Delphine, you don’t know what it’s like. You were never an awkward little girl with a doll that she was insanely enamored with that one day magically came to life.”

“No, I was just a girl in love with another girl who couldn’t trust in that love enough to be honest.”

“Delphine, you are my everything.”

“And you are my only thing. I don’t have any memories that don’t include you. Do you know what that’s like? No, you don’t, because you have your parents and your friends. I only have you.”

“That’s not true. They’re your friends now, too, and my parents think of you as part of the family.”

“It’s not the same. Everything I have and everything I am is because you made me this way.”

“No, Delphine, you’re wrong. I may have given you a name, a nationality, and a really nice haircut, but everything else, your brain, your talent, your heart, that’s all you.”

“Yeah, well now my heart is broken.”

“I love you,” Cosima blurts sadly, yet tinged with hope.

“If you really loved me, you would have been honest with me,” Delphine says as she stands up.

“And if I was, then what? Can you honestly say you wouldn’t have taken off the moment you found out the truth?”

“We’ll never know, will we?” Delphine asks as she heads for the door.

“You’re leaving now,” Cosima cries.

“I have to, I can’t look at you anymore. It hurts too much.”

Cosima practically throws herself off the bed, rushing after Delphine. “Wait, Delphine, where are you going?” She reaches for her arm, but Delphine pulls it away. “What about the storm?”

“It stopped. I guess it was just a wake up call. I need to be alone. Don’t follow me,” Delphine says harshly as she turns and reaches for the door handle.

“Please, Delphine, don’t leave like this,” Cosima yells.

The door opens and then slams shut behind Delphine. Cosima shudders from the harshness of the sound. When the tremor dies down, all that’s left is silence. Cosima looks down and sees Delphine’s dress puddled on the floor. She slides down onto the carpet and picks up the dress, bringing it to her nose and inhaling deeply. As she exhales, a stream of tears comes flowing out accompanied by loud sobs. She clutches the dress to her chest.

A couple hours later, Cosima is still a crying mess on the floor as the sun rises, illuminating the hotel room. Delphine’s dress is now soaking wet in her arms. Her phone chimes, indicating a text message, and she rushes to check it, hoping it’s from Delphine.

Instead, it’s a text from Scott with a picture of he, Cosima, and Delphine during their performance of She Blinded Me With Science. Cosima smiles briefly at the image before her tears splash onto the phone screen, obscuring the image. She replies to Scott with a simple: _She knows_

A second later his response arrives: _Where are you?_

_Hotel_

_I’ll be there as soon as I can. What room?_

_21B_

35 minutes later, Scott is knocking on her door. “Cosima? Cosima, let me in.”

Cosima gets off the floor and trudges to the door. She catches sight of herself in the mirror and notices she’s still naked. She grabs a robe from the closet and puts it on before opening the door. Scott takes one look at his friend’s face, her eyes bright red, her face stained with tears, and envelops her in a hug. She weeps against his shoulder.

After standing just inside the door for nearly five minutes, Scott pulls away and looks at Cosima’s face. “You wanna tell me what happened?”

Cosima heads over to the bed, looks at it’s shambled state, then sinks to the floor. Scott sits down beside her.

“She remembered.”

“What? How?”

“I don’t know, we were sleeping and the thunder woke her up. Stupid fucking storm didn’t even have the nerve to stick around til morning.”

He looks at her expectantly, “Cosima?

“I gave her a kiss on the nose to soothe her nerves, then there was a flash of lightning and suddenly she just remembered that night, remembered me saying au revoir and giving her a similar kiss on the nose. She remembered that she was a doll.”

“Where is she? Don’t tell me she turned back into a doll?”

“No, but she kinda turned into someone unrecognizable.”

“What do you mean?”

“She was angry, sooo angry. I’ve never seen her like that. It wasn’t even like how she went off on Charity during dodgeball, this was a controlled anger, she didn’t shout much really, she just seethed. And her eyes, I’ve never seen them like that. They were dark, completely devoid of the warmth that usually resides there. If looks could kill, Scotty, I’d be six feet under right now.”

“No way, Cosima. I saw you two at prom, she’s crazy about you.”

“She was. Past tense. We finally admitted our love for one another, after all this time, we finally admitted it and, oh god, Scotty, tonight was incredible. And then, bam, in an instant, everything turned to shit. And it’s all my fault because I was too afraid to tell her the truth, because I let my own selfishness get in the way of letting her know who she really was. And now she wants nothing to do with me.”

“Maybe I can try to talk to her for you, explain.”

“No, um, she’s not exactly your biggest fan at the moment. She knows you were in on the lie and I may have kinda told her that you thought it would be a mistake to tell her the truth, so, yeah, she’s not liking you much right now either.”

“Well, that’s just it, I’ll tell her I stopped you from telling her, that this is all my fault.”

“No, Scotty, as much as I appreciate what you want to do, it won’t help, this is all on me. I should have told her the truth. She put all her faith and love in me and I let her down. And now I’ve lost the only girl I’ve ever loved and I just want to throw myself off the bridge.”

“Cosima, stop it. She loves you, she’ll come around. I’m sure it was a shock for her to find this all out, but the love the two of you share, that’s epic. It’s obvious to anybody who sees you together. Just have faith in that love.”

“I wish I could, but you didn’t see her, you didn’t hear what she said. I fucked up big time, dude.”

“She just needs time, Cosima. Don’t give up. Look, you probably have to check out soon, let me take you home.”

Cosima nods, then gets dressed. She collects the discarded clothes around the room, including Delphine’s dress, and throws them in her bag. She can’t help crying as she checks out of the hotel and gets in Scott’s car. Cosima is quiet on the drive home, she just stares out the window, her tears falling silently, lost in thought. Eventually she picks up her phone and dials Delphine, it’s goes right to voicemail. She tries a few more times, same result.

They pull up in front of Cosima’s house. “Thanks for coming to get me, I hope you weren’t in the middle of anything with Sarah. You two looked like you were getting real close when I left.”

“No, you didn’t interrupt anything, she had to be home at 1am. We did have a great night though and I’m meeting up with her for lunch later. You’re welcome to join.”

“Thanks, man, but I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“You want me to go in with you?” Scott asks.

“No, I better face this alone.”

“Call me if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” Cosima hugs Scott and gets out of the car. She slowly makes her way to the front door and lets herself in.

She takes a deep breath and heads up the steps. She opens her bedroom door, nobody is in there. She puts her bag down, then heads over to the guest room. Nobody is in there, either.

“Cosima, is that you?” Nancy yells from downstairs.

“Yeah,” she yells back. She walks back into the hallway as her mom comes up the steps. Nancy takes one look at Cosima’s face and envelops her in a hug as she starts to cry again.

“It’s ok, baby,” Nancy says soothingly as she rubs her back. She leads Cosima into her room and they sit down on Cosima’s bed. Cosima’s head burrows into her mom’s neck, tears flowing freely. “You want to talk about it?”

“I ruined everything, Mom. Delphine hates me.”

“Honey, I’m sure she doesn’t hate you. What happened?”

“We were having an unbelievably wonderful night and then she discovered something I had lied to her about and now she wants nothing to do with me.”

“Do you want to tell me what this lie was?”

“No, I’m sorry, Mom, I can’t.”

“Okay.”

“I just really need to find Del-,” Cosima notices the closet door is slightly a jar, she gets up and opens it. “Shit! She was here. Her clothing is gone. Mom, did you see her?”

“No, I didn’t, she must have come when we were sleeping.” Nancy looks around the room, before noticing something on Cosima’s pillow. “Cosima.” Cosima turns to look at her mom, who gestures towards the pillow. “Looks like a note.”

Cosima runs over and unfolds the paper. She reads it to herself.

_Cosima,_  
 _I’ve decided to move out. I won't be returning to school. Don’t try to find me,I need space._  
 _Please thank your parents for making me feel so welcome in their home._  
 _Au revoir,_  
 _Delphine_

“No, no, no, no, no,” she wails.

“What is it, Cosima? What did she say?”

“She’s gone and she’s not coming back.” She hands over the note to Nancy who reads it and then embraces a hysterical Cosima.

“Shh, shh, baby, it’ll be okay. This doesn’t mean she's gone forever.”

“No, ‘Au revoir’ sounds pretty final to me. You didn’t see her face before she walked out on me, I hurt her really badly."

Don walks into the room, concern at the the scene written all over his face. He makes eye contact with Nancy, who hands him the note. He then rushes over to comfort Cosima as well, joining in on their hug.

“I love her,” Cosima whimpers.

“We know you do, kiddo, we know,” Don says as he kisses her head.

The three of them embrace for a good 15-20 minutes as they try to calm Cosima down. Finally, Nancy speaks up, “Sweetie, why don’t you try and get some rest, I’ll make some soup and you can come down and have some when you’re ready.”

“I can’t eat.”

“You’ll have to eat something at some point, you can’t go with out food. Lay down over here,” she pats the pillow.

Cosima moves up to the head of her bed and lays down. Nancy covers her with a blanket, “We’ll be right downstairs.”

They leave the room and Cosima continues sniffling into her pillow. She then turns around and faces her right side, taking stock of the emptiness she finds there. She scoots over and buries her face in Delphine’s pillow. Her arm drops over the side of the bed and she feels something soft. She lifts her head and looks over the edge, finding the giant puppy she won for Delphine sitting on the floor. She picks it up and wraps her arms around it. “I’m so sorry,” she wails, clutching the puppy tightly. Her mind begins to conjure memory after memory of Delphine and she falls into a trance, almost as if she’s watching a movie of all the time they spent together projected on a screen in her head.

She snaps out of her daze a couple hours later when she hears chatter coming from downstairs. She gets up and rushes down the steps, hoping to find Delphine. Instead, when she enters the living room, she finds Sarah and Beth talking with her parents.

“Hey, Cos,” Sarah offers her a small wave and Don and Nancy excuse themselves to let the girls talk alone.

“Why are you guys here?”

“We wanted to see how you’re doing,” Beth says.

“Why? Did Scott tell you what happened?”

“No, um, actually Aynsley saw you leave the hotel this morning with Scott. You know her, the town gossip, she’s been telling everyone you were crying. It got to Ali, who had to go to her grandmother’s house today, but Ali being Ali, she insisted we check on you and give her a full report of your condition. We would have come by anyway, of course. Why didn’t you call us? What happened?”

“Delphine and I got in a fight. She’s moved out. We’re over.”

“Come on, Cos, she’ll be back,” Sarah insists.

“No, she won’t. I destroyed everything.” Cosima plops down on the couch between her friends.

“Destroyed? No way. You were having such a good time last night, both of you, with all the dancing and kissing you were doing. Did something go wrong in the hotel room?”

“Everything in the hotel room was amazing. At first. Actually, Beth?”

“Yeah?”

“Fuck you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“What did I do?”

“You gave Delphine tips, tips that she put to use expertly, incredibly.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem then?”

“That’s the memory of her I have to live with now. How the fuck am I supposed to get over that? Not like it was gonna be easy anyway, but holy shit, Beth.”

Beth laughs, “Sorry.”

“Hold up,” Sarah interrupts, “this square gave Delphine sex tips?”

Beth just shrugs, while Cosima nods and then starts crying.

“Hey, hey, come on now,” Sarah wraps her arm around Cosima and pulls her close, Cosima’s head falling upon her shoulder, while Beth rubs her leg soothingly. “What happened?”

“I’ve been keeping something from her, lying to her for months, and it came out early this morning. I can’t tell you what it is, so don’t ask, but it’s big and she’s pissed and said she needs space. She’s not coming back to school and I don’t even know where she is.”

“Did you try calling her?” Beth wonders.

“Yeah, her phone goes straight to voicemail. She doesn’t want to see or speak to me, ever again probably.”

“Look, I get that you don’t want to tell me and Beth what happened, though I wish you would so we can understand this better, but I can’t imagine there is anything that you could lie about that would be so bad that Delphine wouldn’t be able to forgive you. You worship the ground she walks on, anyone can see that. And that girl is so far gone for you, it’s kinda sickening.”

“Yeah, Cosima,” Beth agrees. “She was really excited about spending prom night with you, she wanted your first time together to be perfect. She made me go into explicit detail so she could get it right. Your pleasure was the most important thing for her.”

“Really?” Cosima asks with a smile. Beth nods before Cosima smiles turns into a frown. “Well, that was before. Now I think she’d rather I was in pain, a lot of pain.”

“I highly doubt that, but you obviously are already in a lot of pain.”

“So where do you think she went, Cos? Back to France?”

Cosima laughs.

“Why’s that funny?”

“It’s not. No, I don’t think she went to France. I don’t know where she went, but you both have to promise me that if you find out, you’ll tell me.”

“Absolutely,” Sarah promises.

“Of course,” Beth agrees.

“Girls,” Nancy interrupts, “do you want to stay and have dinner?”

“Sure,” Sarah says and Beth nods.

“No, Sarah, you should go spend time with Cal,” Cosima insists.

“Don’t be silly, Cos, Cal is fine and you need me. Besides, Cal is done with school, he’ll be here all summer. Right now, I just want to be here for you.”

Sarah and Beth walk Cosima into the kitchen where they sit down and eat. Afterwards, they insist on staying to watch a movie with her, trying anything to keep her mind off Delphine, though it doesn’t really help. Everywhere she looks, she sees Delphine. Eventually, both girls have to go home, finals start tomorrow and they need to study.

“Thanks for coming by and trying to cheer me up. I love you both.”

“We love you, too, Cosima.” Beth hugs her.

“Yeah, what would we do without our little geek monkey, huh?” Sarah ribs, before giving her a hug also.

They leave and Nancy walks into the foyer.

“You alright, sweetie,” Nancy asks.

“Not really. I’m think I’m just gonna go study and then try to sleep.”

“Okay, baby, I love you.”

“I love you, too, Mom.” Nancy kisses and hugs her and Cosima trudges up the steps, entering her bedroom and closing the door.

She looks over her Psychology notes for a little while, but finds it hard to focus, her mind keeps wandering back to Delphine. Eventually she shuts the lights and gets into bed; a bed that just feels empty and cold. Even the stuffed puppy isn’t comforting. She tosses and turns for a couple hours before reaching over to her phone on the nightstand. She quickly composes a text message: _I love you. Please just let me know you’re ok._ She reads it over a few times, erasing, then retyping it, before she finally presses send.

Still unable to fall asleep after further tossing and turning, Cosima gets out of bed, goes over to her desk, pulls out a joint, grabs her lighter, and climbs out the window. She settles onto the roof and lights up. As she smokes, her mind starts to relax and she feels herself calm down.

Suddenly, she hears a noise and looks up to find Delphine stepping down out of the window.

“Delphine?” Cosima calls out. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I hadn’t fallen asleep yet. I didn’t know you smoke.”

“It helps calm my nerves. You wanna try?”

“Okay.” Delphine sits down, takes a hit, and starts coughing.

“It takes a little getting used to.” They pass the joint back and forth for a while. When it finally burns out, they just sit, looking into each other’s eyes. Delphine suddenly surges forward, capturing Cosima’s lips in a passionate kiss.

They break away for air after several long minutes.

“Cosima?”

“Yeah?” Cosima responds breathlessly.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

A gigantic smile spreads across Cosima’s face, “I thought you’d never ask.”

Cosima closes her eyes and leans forward to kiss Delphine again, but this time their lips don’t connect. Cosima opens her eyes, but there’s nobody there. Tears begin to fall as Cosima collapses onto the roof in a heap, the sound of her cries echoing through the night sky.

Back inside, Cosima’s phone lights up on her nightstand indicating a new text message.


	28. Miss Independent

“Stop knocking,” Cosima groans, but the knocks just keep on coming. She finally opens her eyes and is met with the blinding light of the sun. “Fuck! I slept on the freakin’ roof,” she says to herself as she slowly stands up, stretches out her back, and shuffles through the window into her bedroom.

She grabs her glasses off the nightstand and looks over at the clock; it’s 7:15 and her psych final starts at 8am. She quickly grabs some clothing and rushes into the bathroom. Cosima hasn’t showered since she got ready for prom, her dream of waking up the morning after and bathing with Delphine was crushed by their fight. As she turns on the water and undresses, it hits her that she still has sex all over her, Delphine’s scent remains embedded in her pores. She freezes before stepping into the shower, reluctant to wash all that off, the fear that this may effectively scrub Delphine from her life. She then realizes that’s a little too crazy and resolves herself that somehow she’ll get Delphine back. She quickly jumps under the spray, cleans herself up, and gets dressed and ready for school.

“Cosima, are you okay?” Nancy asks as Cosima hurries down the steps.

“As okay as I’m gonna be, but I’ve gotta get to school. I’ll see you later.” She rushes outside and into her car where her feet fail to reach to the pedals. She realizes that Delphine drove her car last and, as she adjusts her seat forward, she can’t stop her eyes from welling up with tears. She pulls into a parking space outside the school and tries to compose herself before exiting the car. She collects her things and, for the first time, realizes she doesn’t have her phone. “Shit, I must have left it home,” she mutters. The bell rings and she slams the car door and breaks out into a sprint towards the building.

When Cosima arrives at the classroom, Dr. Bowers is handing out test booklets. “Ms. Niehaus, thank you for joining us.”

“Sorry,” Cosima says as she takes a booklet and heads to her desk.

“Where is Ms. Cormier?” the teacher asks.

“Oh, um, Delphine’s not coming, she, uh, had a family emergency. She’s not able to finish up school with us,” Cosima lies with a heavy heart, not sure what else to say.

“Oh, poor girl. I hope everything’s okay,” Dr. Bowers responds and Cosima nods.

Beth reaches over and rubs Cosima’s shoulder before they put their heads down and work on the exam.

When their test ends nearly three hours later, Beth walks with Cosima out into the hall.

“Are you okay? Any word from Delphine?”

“No and no.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks, um, I don’t have a final this afternoon, so I’m gonna head home, I didn’t sleep very well last night. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Alright,” Beth hugs her and then Cosima heads to her car.

Nobody is home when Cosima gets to her place. She rushes up to her room to locate her phone and immediately spots it on the nightstand. She picks it up and taps the home button, the screen lights up and there’s an alert for a missed text from Delphine. Shocked and a little scared, Cosima drops the phone on her bed like a hot potato. She stares at the phone for a moment before picking it up and opening up to the message. She notices that it arrived at 3:45am, when she was out on the roof. Her eyes scan down to read the text: _I’m okay. Don’t worry about me, just focus on finals_.

It’s not much, but something in Cosima is warmed by the fact that Delphine wants her to do well in school. She types a response: _So sorry I didn’t get your text til just now. I’ll focus on finals, but I’ll never stop worrying about you. I love you._

She hits send, then almost immediately gets an alert: MESSAGE DELIVERY FAILED

“What the hell?”

She dials Delphine’s number: “I’m sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

“No, this can’t be.”

She dials it again: “I’m sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

“No!”

Then she tries one more time: “I’m sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

She takes the phone and throws it across the room, smashing it into the wall and shattering the screen.

“Dammit Delphine,” Cosima wails, bursting into tears. She then starts throwing stuff all over her room, anything she gets her hands on ends up on the floor. Cosima stares at the closet for a moment before rushing over, opening the door, rummaging though the contents and pulling out a box. But not just any box, the Science Barbie box. She looks at it in contemplation for a minute and then proceeds to tear it to shreds.

When Nancy returns home a couple hours later, she finds Cosima curled up in the fetal position on the floor of her bedroom surrounded by the mess.

“Cosima, what happened in here?”

“I got upset.”

“I see that. What brought this on?”

“Delphine disconnected her phone. I have no way of reaching her now.”

“And what did that box do?” Nancy asks, pointing to the shredded bits of cardboard littered around her.

“That box destroyed me.”

“I’m not following.”

“It carried something very precious to me and now all it carries is a reminder of how stupid I am.”

“Cosima, I know there’s a lot you don’t want to tell me about what happened between you and Delphine, and I don’t know what any of this has to do with that box, but wrecking your room and your belongings isn’t going to make things better. The only thing that will make it better is time.”

“No, the only thing that will make it better is if Delphine comes back.”

“I hope she does come back, I truly do, but what if she doesn’t? Is that it Cosima, is your life over?”

“Yup.”

“Cosima, stop it. Look, this is all fresh and the stinger is still embedded in your flesh, but you cannot just give up on your life, on yourself. Right now you need to concentrate on finals.”

“That what she said.”

“That’s what who said?”

“Delphine. She texted me before she disconnected her phone, said not to worry about her and focus on finals.”

“Doesn’t that tell you that she cares about you and wants you to do well?”

“Yeah, but if she cares so much, then how can she leave me like this and just cut off all contact?”

“She’s obviously very hurt, but you need to respect her wishes and I think you should take her advice. Besides, don’t you have to administer a final to your biology class tomorrow? You have responsibilities, Cosima, and you can’t fulfill them if you’re laying on the floor of your bedroom. I know you’re suffering and I wish I could take all your pain away, but it’s going to take time. Right now, you need to continue living for yourself, for your own well being.”

Cosima stands up and hugs her mother, “I’ll try.”

“That’s all you can do. Let me help you clean up.”

Nancy starts picking up some of the items strewn over the floor while Cosima does the same.

“Mom?”

“Yes?” Nancy asks, turning to face Cosima.

“I have damage insurance on my phone, right?” Cosima asks, holding up her battered cellphone.

Nancy laughs, “Yes, Sweetie, yes you do.”

They finish cleaning up the room, then Don comes home and they have dinner. Afterwards, Cosima studies for her Math final before finalizing the exam for her Bio class.

When she settles into bed for the night, Cosima finds herself drawn to the right side, to Delphine’s side. She rests her head on Delphine’s pillow and cuddles the stuffed puppy as she drifts to sleep and dreams of nothing but Delphine.

The next morning, Cosima drags herself out of bed and off to school. She takes her Math final and then meets her friends in the cafeteria for lunch. As they see her approaching their table, their expressions instantly turn serious. Alison jumps up and runs over, capturing her in a tight embrace.

“Alison, I can’t breathe.”

Alison lets go, “How are you doing, Cosima? I’m so sorry about, you know, leaving.”

“Alison, you can say her name,” Cosima assures her, “I won’t fall apart. Well no more than I already have.”

“Oh, Cosima,” Alison quickly hugs her again.

They sit down and everyone stares at Cosima, unsure of what to say.

“Guys, please don’t look at me like I’m dying. Can we just act normal?” Cosima pleads.

“Yeah, sorry, Cos, we just feel bad, you know?” Sarah says.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be okay.”

“Um, looks like your phone’s not,” Beth says, noticing the fractured screen.

“Ah, yes, my phone had an unfortunate run in with a wall.” Cosima lights up the screen, the image of Cosima and Delphine on California Screamin’ barely discernible beneath the cracks.

Sarah reaches over, covering Cosima’s hand with her own, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“So no word from Delphine?” Tony asks.

“Just a text saying she’s okay, but now her number is disconnected. Hey, have any of you heard from her or seen her around?” Cosima looks at her friends and they all shake their heads no. “If you do, please let me know. I can’t imagine where she’s disappeared to.”

“Aren’t you going to eat something, Cosima?” Alison asks with concern.

Cosima glances at the trays around her and notices some of them are eating tacos. “No, I’m not hungry.”

“Cosima, I heard Delphine left you after prom, guess the satisfaction didn’t last, huh?” Charity taunts from behind Cosima.

“Fuck off, Charity,” Sarah shouts at her.

“I’m sorry if the truth hurts,” Charity continues.

Just then about a dozen tater tots come flying at Charity, hitting her in the head, face, and chest, causing her to screech.

“Does that hurt?” Helena smirks and Charity storms off in a huff.

Cosima looks over at her friend, “You didn’t have to waste your food on that bitch, Helena.”

“It’s what Delphine would have done,” Helena smiles.

Cosima nods, “Yeah, she probably would have. Thanks. So, Tony, what happened with you and Jennifer? When I left, you two looked pretty cute out on the dance floor.”

“She’s a sweet girl, we danced for a little while, then chatted for a bit. We’re planning to hang out over the summer before we both head to school. She’s going to the University of Arizona on a swimming scholarship. Can you believe she’s in the pool every morning by 5am?”

“No, I can hardly get in the shower by 7:30,” Cosima laughs. “That’s cool that you made a new friend and if it grows beyond that, that’s cool too.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t wait to pick up on broken hearted girls, though, cause then you’d be stuck with me.”

“Stop it, Dreads, I don’t believe you and Curls are done.”

“Feels pretty done to me,” Cosima replies solemnly. “Anyway, I better get going, I have a test to give in a few.”

Cosima gets up and walks out of the cafeteria, her friends watching her as she goes.

“This is not good,” Sarah says. “What is wrong with Delphine? How could she leave her like this? There’s no way Cos could have done anything so bad to her that would explain her giving her the silent treatment like this.”

“I’m sure Delphine has her reasons,” Scott mumbles.

“Scott, what do you know?” Sarah inquires.

“Me? Nothing, just what Cosima has told us, that Delphine found out something she lied to her about.”

“She didn't say anything more to you?” Sarah asks suspiciously.

“Nope.”

“Ok, I’m not sure I believe you, but regardless, we all need to be there for Cos. She’s never been in love before and I don’t know if Delphine will be back or not, but she needs us. So whenever you can, reach out, try to distract her.”

They all agree to do whatever they can as the bell rings and they head their separate ways.

In her Biology classroom, Cosima is finishing stapling together the tests as her students enter and take their seats. After passing out the exams, she sits at her desk and gets lost in thought as the kids work on their final. When the bell rings, the students file up to her desk to drop off their tests.

“Cosima, are you ok?” the last student, a small, curly-haired girl asks.

“Yeah, Gracie, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“You just look different. You’re usually so happy and smiling and now you seem sad.”

“I guess I have a lot on my mind.”

“Well, I wanted to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed being in your class. You really made learning biology fun, which is not something I thought I’d say. But now I’m actually thinking of continuing to study science and that’s because of you.”

“Thank you, Gracie, that really means a lot.”

“Sure, well, I hope whatever is wrong works itself out soon. Have a good afternoon.”

“Thanks, you too.”

Gracie leaves and Cosima collects her things, locks up the classroom, and heads to her car. In the parking lot, she spots Ramon by the bikes.

“Hey, Ramon,” she calls out as she approaches him.

He turns around, “Oh, hello, Ms. Niehaus, how can I be of service? Are you in need of a little herbal supplement today?”

“No, actually I’m looking for a mutual friend of ours.”

“And who would that be?”

“Delphine.”

“Ms. Cormier?”

Cosima nods, “Have you seen her lately, maybe supplied her with some new documentation?”

“Sorry, no. I wish she’d stop by though, I want to thank her, I’m pretty sure I passed my French final yesterday and that’s due to her.”

“Well if she happens to get in touch, I want you to call me ASAP.” Cosima writes down her number on a piece of paper and hands it to him. “It is very important that I find her.”

“Okie dokie, will do.” Ramon promises as he slips her number into his backpack and takes off on his bike.

Cosima gets in her car and sits there for a while just thinking, thinking of where Delphine might have gone. She then starts the car and drives off, stopping at all the places she went with Delphine, hoping beyond hope that Delphine will be at one of them. As the sun sets, Cosima heads home, fast losing faith in finding Delphine, especially if Delphine doesn’t want to be found.

She joins her parents for dinner, making quick work of her meal, then retreating to her room for the rest of the night.

The next morning Cosima takes her English final and then heads to the mall, getting her cell phone screen replaced while keeping an eye out for Delphine. When the repair is complete, she goes from store to store, showing Delphine’s photo around, but nobody claims to have seen her of late.

Cosima returns home dejected, hardly touches her dinner, then locks herself in her bedroom. Cosima sits on the bed, cuddling with the stuffed puppy. “I don’t know, buddy, I don’t think she’s coming back to us. How could she leave such a cutie?” Cosima wonders. “And you’re not so bad yourself, pup.” Cosima giggles at her own joke, before the laughter turns to sorrow. “I’m sorry, this is my fault, she left us both because of me. And now she won’t even talk to me and I don’t know how I’m supposed to get over her. What do you think?” She pretends to listen carefully to the puppy. “Yup, this is ruff indeed. Is it weird that it’s easier to talk to you than my friends and family? I haven’t talked to a doll like this since… Delphine. Hey, maybe you wanna come to life, too, be my real puppy. And I mean actual puppy, not the Delphine type of puppy.” Cosima looks over at the cork board where she posted the picture of Delphine from the park when she first made the puppy comment. “No, I probably shouldn’t even think of bringing any more dolls to life, I’d only find a way to screw that up, too.”

Cosima looks towards her book shelf and something catches her eye. She gets up and pulls out a book, returning to her bed with it. “You see this book?” she points it towards the puppy. “This is _The Origin of Species_ , Delphine went out of her way to get me this for my birthday. It’s my favorite book, but the reason she got it for me was because I made up a lie about looking for an old copy on eBay, a lie I told when keeping the truth about her own origins from her. Ironic, huh?”

Cosima leafs through the book stopping at the final passage and reading it aloud, “It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent on each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with Reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the external conditions of life, and from use and disuse; a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less-improved forms. Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”

She laughs and turns to the puppy, “I wonder what Darwin would think about a doll coming to life. He’d probably say it’s just nature evolving, another beautiful form taking shape. Anyone else would think this was absolutely fucking bonkers, but not Darwin, he’d accept it. I mean she’s a living, breathing human being, right? She breathed life into me, that’s for sure.”

Cosima takes out the note Delphine included and reads it silently. When she gets to the end, she reads it out loud, “one thing I am certain of is that you will always be a huge part of my life and I hope you feel the same.” Tears starts to pool in her eyes, “Really Delphine, are you certain of that? Then where the hell are you? Cause I do feel the same, but I’m not so sure you do.” A tear falls onto the paper and Cosima quickly wipes her eyes with her sleeve before clutching the note to her bosom. She falls asleep like that, the note held tightly to her chest and the book by her side.

Cosima wakes to “The Elements,” and is instantly reminded that today is her Chemistry final. As she turns to shut her alarm, the paper falls off her chest and she remembers her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were whether Delphine’s words were true. She laughs at that thought, why should anything either of them said be true when it was all built on a lie? She puts the paper back in the book and places the book back on the shelf. Cosima then gets dressed for school, grabs a pop tart, and rushes out the door.

She enters the Chemistry classroom and Scott smiles softly at her as she walks past him to her table. Dr. Leekie walks around passing out their final exam. He’s surprised to find Cosima alone at her table. “Where’s your partner in slime?”

“Delphine won’t be taking the final, she had a family emergency and is unable to finish the school year with us.” This lie has now been repeated to teachers so often, it’s starting to feel like the truth, and effortlessly slips from her lips.

“That is a shame, she was a phenomenal addition to this class, I was certain she would do exceptionally well on this exam. Ah, well, I do hope she continues to pursue science.”

“Yeah, me too,” Cosima agrees and then gets to work on the test as Leekie returns to his desk.

When time is up, they hand in their exams and file out of the class.

“How you doing, Cosima?”

“Hey, Scotty, I’m alright. You?”

“I’m good.”

“Still nothing on the Delphine front?”

“No.”

“Well at least you got through finals.”

“Yeah, well, it’s what Delphine wanted.”

“What do you mean?”

“In her text to me, before she disconnected her phone, she told me to focus on finals, so that’s what I tried to do.”

“Well that’s encouraging, she obviously cares about you.”

“You sound like my mom.”

“Your mom is a smart lady. But it’s obvious.”

“Yeah, well I wish Delphine had cared enough to stay for finals herself. She was doing so well here. Would it really have been that hard for her to be around me for one more week so she could finish school? I mean she’s the one that wanted to attend in the first place.”

“I don’t know, Cosima, maybe it wasn’t about you, maybe it was more about who she wasn’t.”

“Whatever the reason, I wish she’d stuck around to let me know. I’ve looked for her everywhere, but she seems to have disappeared.”

“You just gotta wait her out.”

“What if I’m waiting forever?”

Scott pulls her in for a hug, “Then I guess you’ll have to decide if she’s worth waiting for.”

Cosima sighs.

“Tomorrow is the last of school, how crazy is that?” Scott changes the subject.

“So crazy, I can’t believe this is the end of high school, the end of an era.”

“You gonna come out with us tomorrow night?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been up for much socializing lately.”

“But this is a celebration of our last day as K thru 12ers. Please think about it.”

“We’ll see. I’m gonna head out, hasta mañana.”

As Cosima drives home, a thought crosses her mind and she passes the turn that takes her to her street. Instead, she goes to one of her last happy places with Delphine. As she pulls into the lot, she silently prays Delphine is either there or has been recently. She gets out of the car and heads into the ice cream shop, the one Delphine took her to the night of their last date before prom. She looks around, but Delphine is not there. She approaches the young man behind the counter and asks if Delphine has been in there lately, showing him a photo on her phone. He examines the image and says no, but that it’s possible she’s come in when he wasn’t on. Cosima orders ice cream and sits down at a table facing the front door. Cosima remains there for a couple hours, glancing up with hopeful eyes every time the front door swings open and the bell chimes. Delphine doesn’t show and Cosima ends up with a stomachache. She’s not sure if it’s from too much ice cream or not enough Delphine.

She heads home and, when she walks through the front door, her mother calls to her, “Cosima, finally, dinner’s ready.”

“Sorry, Mom, I should have called, I already ate. I’m just gonna go upstairs.”

“Okay, if you change your mind, leftovers will be in the fridge.”

As Cosima is about to go upstairs, she notices images on the computer screen in the office. She walks in and takes a look; it’s the pictures her mom took before prom. Cosima sits down and scans through them. There are pictures of all her friends, looking great in their dresses and suits, and the mixture of serious and silly images puts a smile on her face. She chuckles at a picture of Alison and Donnie that looks like a recreation of American Gothic. Then she scan through to the photos with her and Delphine in them. She can’t get over how happy they both look. One photo in particular catches her eye, it’s a group shot and everyone is looking at the camera, everyone except Delphine that is. In this photo, Delphine is glancing at Cosima with a certain look in her eyes and on her lips. Cosima is sure that if you showed this photo to a million people, they’d all see and say the same thing, that the curly blonde goddess is in love with the girl with the dreads. Cosima continues scrolling, laughing at some of the poses and faces she and Delphine made for the camera. The final photo, though, is quite different. In it they’re kissing, eyes closed, lips feasting on lips. Cosima blushes, realizing they did this in front of her parents, at the time getting so swept up in the moment they didn’t care who was looking.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie, I should have shut down the computer,” Nancy says from behind her. “I was just going through and color correcting before emailing them to your friends.”

“No, Mom, it’s okay, these are great shots.”

“You like that one?” Nancy says, pointing towards the one Cosima was just studying.

“Yeah, uh, a little awkward knowing my mom took it though.”

“Hey, I’ve seen you two kissing, not exactly a shocker.”

“I know, but not like that. We were a little more subtle with PDA in front of you and dad.”

“Yeah, you laying in her lap every time we watched a movie, while she stroked your face and played with your hair, was super subtle.”

“I guess not, but still not like I was macking on her.”

Nancy laughs, “It’s a beautiful image, Cosima.”

Cosima turns back to the screen, “Yeah, it is. Hey, Mom, this one right here, with all of us, what do you see?”

Nancy leans in and surveys the image. “I see a lot of kids who look very excited for prom.”

“Uh huh,” that’s not the answer Cosima was looking for.

“And I see a girl that’s madly in love with you,” Nancy adds.

Cosima turns to face her mom. “Yeah? You see it, too?”

“Yes, baby, I do.”

“I knew it,” Cosima’s face lights up. “I mean she told me she loved me later that night, but the fact that it’s so clear here, there’s no way what we have is over. I’m not giving up hope, Mom. I’m not giving up until she says we’re done for good. And if I never hear from her again, I still won’t give up, because if someone really wants to end things, they say it.”

They’re both silent for a little while until Cosima looks back at her mom. “Do you think I’m crazy? For not wanting to give up on her I mean?”

“I think you’re in love, Cosima, and when you’re that in love, you never want to give it up. But, like I said the other day, don’t let this consume you to the point that you are unable to move on. You can keep living while maintaining that sense of optimism.”

“I guess that’s what I’ll have to do then.”

—————

The last day of school has arrived. At each of Cosima’s classes, the final assignments are returned and Cosima has aced every one. During Chemistry, Leekie gets a call from the office. “Cosima, that was Raj, Principal Hardcastle would like to see you right after school.”

When the final bell rings, the students go crazy, cheering and clapping. Over the loud speaker, Raj plays Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out For Summer.” Cosima makes her way to the principal’s office.

“Hey, Raj.”

“Hi, Cosima, go right in, he’s expecting you.”

She opens the door and steps into Hardcastle’s office. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes, Cosima, please have a seat.” She does as she’s told. “I understand you’ll be attending the University of Minnesota.”

“Yeah, I’m really excited about it.”

“They have an exceptional science program and they are very fortunate to have a student of your caliber joining them. A student who I am happy to announce has been selected as this year’s valedictorian.”

Cosima smiles brightly, “Yeah?”

“Was there every any doubt?”

“Well, you never know.”

“Nobody even came close to your grades Cosima. Actually, your foreign friend, Delphine Cormier, was ineligible as an exchange student and for only attending for such a short period of time, but her grades were the closest to yours this semester. And though she was unable to take her finals, her grades were high enough that the exams wouldn’t have made too much of a dent in her GPA either way. In fact, her teachers gave me her final assignments and I thought I’d give them to you, in case you should see her again. She did quite well.” He hands Cosima a folder with Delphine’s papers. “I will have Raj email her report card to the school listed on her transcript and I’ve also included a copy in the folder.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Cosima says, not sure how a report card from a fake student is liable to be received by the Parisian high school.

“So, you have one week to prepare your speech for graduation. I look forward to hearing what you have to say. Congratulations, Cosima.”

“Thank you, Principal Hardcastle.” They shake hands and Cosima leaves the office. Scott is waiting in the hall when she exits.

“So, what did Hardcastle want?” Scott asks.

“He wanted to tell me that I’m valedictorian,” she grins.

“Of course you are, congrats,” he envelops her in a hug. “What’s all that?”

“This is a folder with all of Delphine’s final graded papers and her report card, which they plan to send to her high school in France.”

“What?”

“Yup.”

“Maybe we should hack back in and reroute that report card.”

“Is that possible?”

“I’ll try, I still remember the steps Cal walked us through before to break in. I’ll go home and see what I can do. You meeting up with us later?”

“You know what? I think I will.”

“Awesome! I’ll let you know then if I was successful. See you later, Cosima.”

As Scott leaves, Cosima walks the halls of the high school, remembering all the times she spent with Delphine around the school. There’s the locker Delphine kissed her up against, the spot where she gave Delphine a pep talk before her mock trial, the bathroom where Delphine accidentally kissed Sarah. So many memories. As much as Cosima thought she couldn’t wait to graduate, right now she wishes she could go back and relive the last few months, that happy time spent at school with Delphine.

When Cosima arrives home, her parents are sitting in the living room. “Hello parents.”

“Hello child,” Don and Nancy greet simultaneously. “How was your last day of school?”

“Pretty good, I aced all my assignments.”

“Nice, way to go,” Don says.

“Anything else?” Nancy asks.

“No, nothing too exciting. Just the usual last day stuff,” Cosima responds dryly. “Oh and you know, being named valedictorian.”

At that, Don and Nancy leap to their feet and embrace their daughter, “Congratulations, Kiddo!”

“Oh, Cosima, this is so wonderful, we are so proud of you, we would have been regardless, but this is icing.”

“Thanks, I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty stoked,” Cosima admits. “I know everyone thought this would happen, but to actually hear Hardcastle say the words, well, it felt real good.”

“I’ll bet,” Don replies.

“We should go out tonight and celebrate.”

“If you don’t mind, Mom, can we do it another night? I told Scotty I’d meet everyone at Pins to celebrate our last day of school.”

“No, not at all, I’m actually really happy you want to be with your friends tonight. We’ll do dinner out tomorrow.”

“Cool, thanks. I’m gonna go put my stuff away and get ready to go meet them.”

At 6:12, Cosima walks into Pins to find her friends seated around a table. “Sorry, I’m late.”

“We know, always kinda late, always kinda sorry,” Sarah recites. “We’re just glad to see ya, Cos.”

“I’m glad to be here.”

They all chat and stuff themselves full of noodles. Later, when their dishes are cleared, a cake is brought out and placed in front of Cosima.

“Oh my god, you guys,” Cosima exclaims as she reads the inscription on the cake: _Congratulations Geek Monkey!_

“You did it, Cos, just like we knew you would,” Sarah says.

“Your nerdiness paid off,” Beth adds with a smirk.

“Hell yeah, Dreads,” Tony gives her a high five.

“Cosima, valedictorian is a wonderful accomplishment and I am delighted for you,” Alison starts to tear up.

“Thanks, Alison. All of you, thank you for this.”

“I’m just glad you took time out of your transgressive lesbian geek spiral to join us,” Felix sasses.

“Oi, Fe,” Sarah smacks him in the head, “we said we weren’t gonna bring that subject up tonight.”

“It’s okay, I know I’ve been kinda distant this week, it’s just been hard, you know, but I can’t stay holed up in my room forever. I’m not giving up on Delphine and what we had, I can’t, but my mom helped me see that I can’t give up on my life either.”

“That’s a very sensible decision, Cosima,” Alison offers.

“Yeah, well in the meantime, Bobby over there is back for the summer if ya wanna give that another go,” Felix says glancing towards the blonde in the bowling alley.

“Uh, no, I’m definitely not interested in giving it a go with anybody else.”

“Excuse me,” Helena interrupts, “I am very happy you are so smart and I’m sad that science puppy isn’t here, but can we please have some cake?”

Cosima laughs, “Yes, Helena, of course.” She slices and passes out pieces, “Let them eat cake!”

“Shall we bowl?” Scott asks once they’ve all polished off dessert.

“We shall,” Cosima responds.

They pile into the alley and take over two lanes. Scott pulls Cosima aside as the others select their balls.

“It’s done, when they email Delphine’s report card to the address in her transcript, it will route back to a dummy email account I set up.”

“Dude, that’s awesome, thanks!”

“No prob.”

They rejoin their friends and get down to business. It’s a fun night full of gutter balls, strikes, and plenty of smack talking. It’s the kind of night Cosima needed to lift her spirits. A night to remind her that her friends will always be there for her.

Cosima spends the next week hanging with her friends during the day, struggling with her speech in the evening, and dreaming of Delphine through the night.

It’s Thursday evening, graduation is about 40 hours from now, and Cosima and her parents are watching television, waiting for their dinner to be delivered. When the doorbell rings, Cosima jumps up to answer.

“Did somebody here order a pizza?” The person on the other side says once the door swings open and Cosima can’t stop the huge smile that spreads across her face at the sight of this most welcome visitor.


	29. The Graduate

“Gram!” Cosima shouts, handing off the pizza to her dad and hugging her grandmother. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“I said I’d be here for your graduation, didn’t I? And my granddaughter is the fucking valedictorian!”

“Mother!” Don yelps in mock offense, while Cosima laughs and leads her to the couch.

“So, do you have your speech ready yet?” Gram asks.

“No, I’ve kinda been struggling with writer’s block. But I’ve still got tomorrow to work on it, hopefully something will come to me.”

“I’m sure it will, you’ve got the Niehaus gift of gab,” Gram reassures.

They all settle around the coffee table where they eat pizza and chat, carefully avoiding the French, curly-haired blonde elephant not in the room. When Don and Nancy turn in for the night, Cosima and Gram stay behind.

“So are you going to tell me what happened?”

“What happened with what?” Cosima pretends not to know what she’s alluding to.

“Cosima, why didn’t you call and tell me about you and Delphine? I had to hear it from your father.”

“I’m sorry, Gram, I just didn’t want to talk about, talking about it meant admitting I actually did fuck it up and should have taken your advice and told her the truth a long time ago.” Cosima starts to tear up.

“Oh, Cosima, come here.” Gram pulls Cosima in tight and wraps her arms around her. “I’m sorry, I know how much you cared for Delphine and how much she cared for you. And I’m sure you both still do.”

“I do, I’m not so sure about her, I mean I know she loved me, she’s just not able to forgive me for being a dishonest asshole. She won’t even speak to me or see me. I don’t know where she is and I have no way of contacting her. This whole thing is a disaster.”

“So what happened exactly?”

“Delphine discovered that I had been lying to her, she said some harsh things and took off. She was so hurt and I don’t blame her, I was a moron, too scared to be honest with her.”

“And how were things before this lie came to light?”

“They were so good. We were practically inseparable. On prom night, that was the night she left me, but before that, we were so close and having so much fun together. And stuff happened that was just… transcendent,” Cosima grins.

“Really?” Gram raises an eyebrow. “The sex was that good, huh?”

Cosima looks at her wide-eyed, mouth agape.

“Cosima, please, I was young and in love once, too.”

“Yeah, it was that good, better than good, unbelievably freakin’ amazing,” Cosima admits.

“Would she say the same?”

“Oh god, yes, I mean she told me she loved me right in the heat of the moment.” Cosima pauses, “I can’t believe I’m telling this to my grandmother.”

“Your grandmother is also a doctor, I can handle talking about sex. Did you tell her you loved her?”

“Yeah, of course, right after she said it to me. And then we talked about our feelings and made love some more. It was incredible. But then the truth came out soon after and she was out of my life just as quickly as she had come into it. All I want is a chance to make it up to her, but she won’t let me.”

“This lie must have been pretty major then, huh?”

“Let’s just say it was something that she deserved to know from the get go. She has every right to be pissed off, I get it, I would be too, but this, this total lack of contact, it’s excessive.”

“Maybe so, but obviously this lie hurt her enough that she needs to be away from you right now and as hard as that is for you to accept, you have no choice. You can’t force someone to heal on your clock, every heart mends at its own pace. Maybe her heart needs more time than most.”

“Is that your professional opinion, doctor?”

“Yes,” Gram laughs.

“I know, everyone has told me just to give her time, and it’s not like I even have a choice, but it’s hard. I just want her back. Every night I lay in a bed that just feels so empty and I try to fall asleep, but it’s a struggle because she’s not there to snuggle with. And every morning, right before I open my eyes, I say a prayer that when I do, she’ll be there looking at me with those gorgeous eyes and that beautiful smile. But she never is. Do you know that we spent every night together from the time you were here for my birthday until the night of prom? And we weren’t even having sex, we were just together and that’s all that mattered. I would give anything to have that again.”

“I know you would, but part of growing up is making mistakes, admitting where you went wrong, and slowly working past them. It’s not easy, but there’s no other choice. I know you think you’re an adult now, but you still have a lot of growing up to do, both of you do. And whether or not you’ll find your way back to each other, that remains to be seen. But it’s important that you take these lessons, these tough life lessons, and learn from them, grow from them. Cause they will make you a better, stronger person.”

“You’re right,” Cosima nods, then pauses. “Annnnd I think you’ve just given me an idea for my speech.”

“Well then my work here is done, guess I’ll be heading back to Miami.”

“No way, I’m gonna need all the support I can get when I stand up there in front of everybody on Saturday.”

“You got it, baby girl.”

Cosima kisses Gram on the cheek and they head upstairs for the night. Cosima goes into her bedroom, flops down on the bed, grabs a notebook off the nightstand and starts writing.

The next day, Cosima wakes up to the smell of bacon, eggs, and coffee wafting into her room. She throws on a robe and makes her way downstairs to the kitchen, where her family has already gathered.

“It smells so good in here,” Cosima announces.

“Good morning, Cosima,” Nancy turns and greets her daughter. “Please sit down, breakfast is almost ready.”

“You ready for today, Kiddo?” Don asks as he puts a mug of coffee down in front of her.

“Getting there. Gram kinda gave me a starting point for my speech last night, so I just gotta work on fleshing that out.” Cosima takes a sip of coffee, then puts it down with a hint of dissatisfaction on her face.

“Not the same, huh?” Don asks glancing towards the mug.

“No,” Cosima shakes her head, “it’s not.”

“Trust me, Cosima, that’s one of the many things we all miss. Your father is not exactly Mr. Coffee,” Nancy sympathizes.

“But I make a damn fine cup of Earl Grey.”

“Then maybe we should call you Mr. Tea,” Cosima laughs.

“Ooh, looks like someone’s getting her sense of humor back,” Don kids.

Cosima sticks her tongue out at him as Gram places breakfast in front of them. Cosima takes a bite, “Mmmm, now this is delicious!”

After breakfast, Cosima settles on the couch and continues scribbling notes. When lunchtime rolls around, she’s still on the couch writing.

“Cosima, are you getting dressed today?” Nancy asks.

“Oh,” Cosima says looking down at her robe and pajamas, “I guess not.”

“Come on, eat some lunch, then you can continue writing.”

After lunch, Cosima is about to grab her notebook when she looks at her family sitting around the living room. “Hey, you know what, I could use a break before I get carpal tunnel, anyone in the mood for board games?”

“I’d like that,” Gram says and Don and Nancy agree.

Cosima goes into the closet and returns with Scrabble, Life, and Trivia Pursuit. They spend the next several hours laughing, occasionally arguing, but, most of all, having fun.

“I needed this,” Cosima says when they wrap up the game play.

“I think we all did,” Nancy adds.

“I mean, except for the fact that Gram kicked our asses, this was hella fun.”

“What can I say, I have age and experience on my side,” Gram grins.

Later that night, Cosima sits down at her laptop and organizes all her musings into a final soliloquy. She reads it over and over, making edits here and there, reciting it out loud to the puppy for practice until she’s finally happy with it and prints out the final version. She then lays down on Delphine’s side of the bed and slowly starts to fall asleep, the words of her speech running through her mind, when one final thought makes its way to her lips before she’s out, “This is for you, Delphine.”

“Cosima! Get up, you definitely don’t want to be late for your own graduation ceremony.” The dual sounds of her mother’s voice and loud rapping at her door brings Cosima out of her slumber.

“I’m up, I’m up,” Cosima sleepily insists. She begrudgingly gets up and trudges downstairs. Sleepy-eyed, she sits at the table and eats a few pancakes, before trotting back upstairs to shower and get ready.

She pulls a red, tight fitting, short sleeve dress from her closet and puts it on, finishing the look off with the black skull scarf she bought in LA, fishnet stockings, and a pair of black lace up boots. She then heads into the bathroom to work on her makeup, giving extra care to her eyeliner, making sure it’s winged perfectly. She slips the Cn ring Sarah got her onto her finger, along with a few other rings and chunky bracelets. She then grabs the dress bag with her cap and gown and hurries down to the living room where her parents and grandmother are waiting patiently.

“All set?” Don asks.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Cosima responds.

As they’re walking out of the house, Cosima freezes. “Oh shit! Dad, hold this,” she pushes the dress bag into his arms and rushes back into the house and up to her room. She makes a beeline to her desk and picks up her speech, “Fuck, forgetting this would have been a disaster.” She looks around the room and spots a small object in the corner, she heads over and picks it up. It’s the tiny toy microscope that came with Science Barbie that must have fallen out when she tore apart the box. She places the toy and the speech into her clutch and heads outside to the car.

They pull into the parking lot 15 minutes later, it’s already overflowing with cars and they take the first spot they can find. They walk through the lot into the auditorium.

“I better go join everyone backstage,” Cosima says.

“Good luck, Kiddo, you’re going to knock ‘em dead,” Don says as he hugs and kisses Cosima.

Nancy starts to tear up, “I am so proud of you, Cosima.” They hug and kiss as well.

Cosima looks over at her grandmother, “Any last words of advice for me, Gram?”

“I know you have your speech prepared on paper, but don’t forget when you’re reciting those words that you also need to speak from the heart. Make everyone feel whatever you’re feeling. No matter what, though, just enjoy your moment. Only a very few select individuals get this honor, so appreciate it, cherish it.”

“I will, thanks,” they embrace then Cosima rushes off to join her classmates backstage. When she gets there, she looks around, finding her friends huddled in the corner.

“Look who’s here, finally,” Beth says as she hugs Cosima. Everyone then takes turns greeting her and wishing her luck with her speech. They all help each other put on their caps and gowns.

They’re told to queue up alphabetically. Cosima lines up a little bit behind Helena and Sarah and right before Chad Norris. They are then ushered out into the auditorium where they fill the first dozen rows.

Principal Hardcastle makes opening remarks, followed by boring speeches from board of ed members. Next up, the chorus performs a couple songs and Cosima reviews her speech during this time. Finally, Hardcastle returns to the mic, “Please join me in welcoming this year’s valedictorian to the stage, Ms. Cosima Niehaus.”

“Yeah, Cos,” Sarah shouts as the crowd applauds. Cosima takes a deep breath, rises and makes her way to the podium. She shakes Hardcastle’s hand then stands at the dais, overlooking the large crowd. She glances down at the paper in her hands and begins.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentleman. First, I want to thank Principle Hardcastle and all of the wonderful teachers at Golden Gate High for bestowing this great honor upon me. I’d also like to thank my parents for their continued love and support, as well as my grandmother for joining us here today and being the wisest person I know. I’d also like to thank my friends for always having my back and never being afraid to knock some sense into me when I need it knocked in. And, um, there’s one last person I want to thank, someone who couldn’t be here today, but who, in the last several months, has taught me more about respect, trust, and honesty than I could have learned in a lifetime. Someone who’s made me realize the kind of person I want to be. Je t’aime.”

As the French words of love leave her lips, Cosima begins to feel a sense of anxiety creep up. All eyes are on her, waiting for whatever words are next out of her mouth. She quickly scans the crowd and her eyes are drawn to the rear of the auditorium where she spots a familiar face: Delphine’s.

_Great, Cosima, now you’re picturing Delphine in the audience. Okay, this must be your nerves telling you to calm down and focus on a supportive face, just like you told her to do. So, if it helps, why not pretend she’s there?_

Cosima steadies herself and keeps her line of sight squarely on that figment of her imagination as she continues.

“A few months ago, I turned 18, the legal age of adulthood. Everywhere I go now, I can proclaim that I, Cosima Niehaus, am an adult. I can vote, I can buy cigarettes, I can play the lottery; there are a whole host of opportunities and rights that are now available to me. Now I’m not saying all of those are good, but they exist, they come with this milestone age. And, in a few short months, I’ll be leaving home, heading off to college, where I will be living on my own for the first time. There are all these adult things happening in my life, but the truth is, I’m still a kid, I think all of us graduates are. We are stuck at that intersection where childhood meets adulthood. Between wanting to be thought of as an adult when it suits us, when we are desperate for respect, while still holding on to our youth, blaming our mistakes on age and inexperience. We ignore the advice of those older and wiser than us, claiming we know better, while still seeking their guidance when we realize we’re in over our heads. This year I’ve straddled that line between adulthood and youth. I’ve fallen in love and experienced all the amazing highs that come with that, but I also experienced the terrible lows that love so often brings, namely heartbreak. When you fall in love, your brain and your heart do funny things. On the one hand, your brain is telling you that if you can feel all this love for one person, if you can experience all this passion, then you must be an adult, but, on the other hand, your heart causes you to make foolish decisions, to act impetuously with no regard for the consequences of your actions or even your inactions. So, essentially, this moment in our lives is when the brain and the heart are at an impasse. The brain is the adult part of ourselves, the part that looks before we leap, while the heart is the child inside of us, the one that jumps without giving a second thought to where we’ll land. We are children on the precipice of adulthood. This, our senior year, was the last time we can mess up and say, ‘well I’m just a kid, what do you expect?’ Cause, soon, that’s no longer going to be a valid excuse. But this was also the year when you had to start owning up to your mistakes, because, yeah you can say you’re just a child, but you also want to be treated like an adult, you want to be respected, you want to be listened to and taken seriously. You’re going to mess up, that’s part of growing up. We all make mistakes; in our lifetime, we’ll probably make tons of mistakes, but the measure of a person is how they learn from those mistakes, how they change as a result of those errors in judgement. The truth is, though I may be your valedictorian, I am still young and stupid. I screw up, sometimes I screw up so bad that I hurt the people I care for the most. But I am still learning. We never stop learning. Every day we learn something new, whether it’s about ourselves or about someone or something else. Life is a never-ending series of lessons. I’ve learned a few hard-earned ones as of late and I know I have many more to come. I’ve still got a lot of growing up to do before I’ve earned the title of adult.”

Cosima finishes her speech and Delphine smiles at her as the crowd applauds. Hardcastle shakes her hand and congratulates her once more. When she turns back to the audience, she can no longer spot Delphine, the vision no longer, well, visible. Cosima rejoins the rest of the students and the handing out of diplomas commences.

Once the last student receives his diploma, Hardcastle takes the dais, “Graduates, please rise. Now move your tassels from the left to the right. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I present to you this year’s exceptional graduating class of Golden Gate High School.”

The graduates cheer and toss their caps into the air, while their family and friends erupt in whistles and applause. Cosima and her friends all find each other and embrace in a giant group hug. Suddenly, something catches Cosima’s eye and she looks towards the rear of the auditorium, spotting familiar blonde curls exiting through the back door. Realizing that figments of our imagination don’t typically possess the ability to open doors, she quickly extricates herself from her friends and makes a mad dash through the room, out the door, and into the parking lot.

“Delphine,” she yells. “Wait.”

The blonde stops and turns around. Cosima slows down as she gets closer to her.

“Is it really you?”

“Yes, Cosima, it’s me,” Delphine says softly.

“Can I touch you?” Cosima asks and Delphine looks at her with confusion. “Just your hand, to make sure I’m not imagining you.”

Delphine extends her hand and Cosima tentatively touches the tips of her fingers to the palm of Delphine’s hand. When she’s sure Delphine is 100% real, she closes her hand around Delphine’s, gripping it tightly.

“Oh my god, it really was you in there. I thought I was just conjuring you to help me through that speech. Where have you been?”

“Well, it turns out I’m not allergic to cats.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve been staying at Sherry’s house. They have a little apartment in the basement they’ve been letting me use.”

“With Sherry? Wow, I never would have thought to check with her. I’ve hardly even seen you speak to her outside of English class.”

“Yeah, that’s why I asked her if I could stay at her place for a little while, it seemed an unlikely enough place to lay low.”

“You mean to avoid me? Delphine, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I checked every place we’d ever gone together. I even asked Alison to snoop around Charity’s house to see if you were hiding out there.”

Delphine laughs, “If that was the case, I probably would have killed her by now.”

“Yeah, I bet. So what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you graduate.”

“You did?” Cosima says with surprise.

“Of course. I might be angry with you, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to see you succeed. Your speech was lovely by the way.”

“Thanks. I had a pretty incredible muse.”

Delphine blushes softly.

“I don’t why you didn’t take your finals, but you still passed every class. If I knew you were coming I would have brought your report card. You aced all your final assignments.”

“I didn’t take the finals because I felt like school was just one more lie, pretending to be this exchange student with the perfect grades, when none of it really mattered.”

“It mattered, Delphine. You were an incredible student, every teacher said so.”

“How about you? Valedictorian, not that I’m surprised, but that’s quite an honor.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really care about it.”

“You should.”

Cosima shrugs, “I care about other things more.”

“Cosima, don’t.”

“Don’t what? Don’t tell you how much I care about you, how much it’s killed me not to see you, not to speak to you, for two weeks? Look, I meant what I said in there, I know I let my heart overrule my brain, I was stupid, I never should have lied to you, but I didn’t want to lose you. Why’d you cut off all contact, why did you disconnect your phone?”

“Because I knew you probably wouldn’t stop contacting me and that I wouldn’t be able to resist answering or calling you, so I shut it off. I just needed time to think, to decide what to do next, and I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted.”

”And have you decided?” 

“Yes. I’m leaving town.”

“What? You’re going away? And you weren’t even going to say goodbye?”

“Sherry was going to give you a note from me after the ceremony telling you I was leaving.”

“A note? Why couldn’t you just tell me in person?”

“Because that would mean having to face you and say the words out loud.”

“Jeez, Delphine, you really can’t stand the sight of me, can you?”

“No,” Delphine looks down at their hands, which are still clasped together, “actually, it’s the opposite.”

“I don’t follow.”

Delphine looks back up at Cosima, “Because I knew if I saw you, like this,” she gestures between them with her free hand, “it would be too hard to look into your eyes and tell you I’m leaving and not change my mind.”

“So, here we are, change your mind.”

“I can’t.”

“Please, Delphine. I’m sorry. I fucked up. But I will do anything to make it up to you. Anything. I’ve missed you so much.”

Delphine sighs. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“Really?” Cosima asks.

Delphine nods, “Of course I have, Cosima. You’re not an easy person to just walk away from and forget about. I’ve missed you, I’ve missed everything about you.”

“Then I don’t understand, if you’ve missed me why are you leaving me?”

“Because I need to be on my own, to figure out who I am.”

“And you can’t do that here?”

Delphine shakes her head.

“Where are you going?”

“Away. I’m not sure where I’ll end up, but I know I can’t stay here any longer, there’s too many memories. I need a fresh perspective. I wrote this in my note, but I didn’t want you to think that I was leaving because I hate you. I could never hate you. I’m still upset that you lied to me. You really hurt me, Cosima. I trusted you and you deceived me. That’s going to take some time to get past. But that doesn’t negate all the time we spent together, all the feelings we shared. And I know I said some things to you that night that were unfair. I know I wasn’t a sex toy to you. I was just lashing out and that was wrong of me to say. You weren’t just my girlfriend, you were my best friend. I know this was about much more than sex. This was about a deep connection between two people and it was amazing, you are amazing, Cosima, but as much as I care about you, I can’t be with you.”

“Like ever?”

Delphine shrugs, “I don’t know. But I want you to move on, go to school, get your PhD, fulfill all your dreams, because you are going to be a scientist, Cosima, and you are going to do incredible things with your life.”

“But I don’t want any of that without you. I love you.”

“I love you, too, but that’s why I have to leave.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I love you, but you are all I know and I need to discover who I am separate from you. If I stay, I’ll resent you. I’ll resent that my whole life is wrapped up in you and that’s not fair, to either of us.”

Tears fall from Cosima’s eyes and Delphine reaches up and wipes them away with the back of her fingers, then turns her hand and cups Cosima’s cheek, her thumb gently stroking her lips. Cosima looks up into Delphine’s eyes, her own full of sadness and vulnerability. Delphine slowly leans in, kissing her sweetly, then tenderly bumps her nose as they break away, before resting her forehead on Cosima’s.

“Oh god, all I want is to scream and beg you to stay, but I know I have to respect your decision. I just wish things were different, that I could go back and rewrite the beginning to our story, tell you the truth right from the start.”

“Maybe things worked out the way they were supposed to. I don’t know. But I do know that I will treasure every moment we spent together.”

“So will I. You will always be right here.” Cosima places Delphine’s hand on her heart. “I’ll miss you,” Cosima whimpers.

“I’ll miss you, too, Cosima,” Delphine gives her a kiss on the lips, followed by one on the nose, then turns and walks away. With her back to Cosima, Delphine finally allows her own tears to flow.

Cosima stands there, frozen in place.

“Cos, are you alright?” Cosima turns to see Sarah and Beth. “We came out to see why you took off.”

“Guess that’s our answer,” Beth says, pointing towards Delphine in the distance as she gets into a cab. “What happened?”

“She came to see me graduate and now she’s leaving town.”

“Leaving? As in for good?” Sarah asks.

“I don’t know, I don’t think she even knows, but she’s pretty resolute in her decision to leave. She wants me to go on without her, but I don’t know how that’s possible.”

“I’m sorry, Cos.”

“You’re not gonna go after her?” Beth wonders.

“No, this is what she feels is for the best. I saw it in her eyes, I need to let her make her own choices and live her own life. I took that away from her long enough.”

“What does that mean?” Sarah asks.

“Just that since she’s been here, it’s been what I wanted, what I needed, what I thought was right, but it’s time she does what she needs to do, learns who she is apart from me.”

As everyone spills out of the auditorium, Don, Nancy, and Gram locate Cosima.

“Cosima, what happened? Why’d you run out of there so fast?” Nancy inquires.

“Delphine was here.”

“Delphine? Where is she now?” Gram asks.

“She’s leaving town, she actually stayed for this, to see me graduate.”

“How are you doing?”

“I’m upset, I wish she would have chosen to stay and try to work things out with me, but I respect her decision. It stings a little less knowing she cares, she told me she’s still angry but that she doesn’t hate me. She actually said she loves me, so I have that to hold onto.”

“You’re being very mature about this, Cosima, maybe you’re already becoming more of an adult than you think?” Nancy points out.

“Maybe I am.”

“Cosima, your speech was perfectly you. I knew you’d knock it out of the park.”

“Thanks, Gram and thanks for the inspiration.”

“Yeah, Kiddo, you did great.”

“We are very proud of you, Sweetie,” Nancy adds with a hug. “You ready to get going to Alison’s?”

“Yeah.” Cosima turns to Sarah and Beth, “I’ll see you guys over there.”

The Niehaus family pulls up outside of Alison’s house, where the graduation party has just begun, and parks behind Cal’s RV. They walk in and are immediately greeted by Alison and her mother.

“Cosima, congratulations. You did a wonderful job.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Hendrix.”

“We have a buffet set up in the dining room, please help yourselves.”

Don, Nancy, and Gram head towards the food, while Alison squeezes Cosima’s hand and leads her to the living room where Sarah, Beth, and Tony have gathered.

“Dreads, I’m so sorry, they were just filling me in on your reunion with Curls. You hanging in there?”

“Yeah, Tony, I’m okay.” Cosima forces a small smile.

“Can you believe we are officially graduates?” Tony asks.

“No, I keep thinking I’ll get a call tomorrow telling me there’s been a mistake and they have to take back my diploma,” Sarah says.

“Not gonna happen, you’re out, free from the binds of high school. We all are,” Beth responds.

“I’m actually kind of sad. I’m going to miss seeing you guys everyday,” Alison admits as tears well up in her eyes.

“Oh, Ali, come here,” Beth gives her a hug. “We may not see each another every day, but we’ll still talk, we’ll Skype, and get together whenever we can.”

“Yeah, Beth is actually right for once, you’re not getting rid of us that easy,” Sarah concurs.

“At least you three are staying in town. You’ll still get to hang out, I’m gonna be in Minnesota freezing my ass off.”

“And I’ll be on the beach in Hawaii,” Tony adds, earning him some pointed looks. “What? It’s still far away.”

“Do you realize we’ve been having lunch together practically every school day since elementary school?”

“Yeah, who’s gonna criticize our eating habits without you around Alison?” Cosima jokes.

“Cosima, you better eat healthy in Minnesota.”

“Okay, Mom,” Cosima chuckles.

“Speaking of food, come on, let’s check out the spread in the dining room,” Tony heads towards the buffet and the girls follow.

“Helena, stop,” Sarah shouts when she spots her sister, “it’s not time for cake yet,” she rushes off to prevent Helena from sinking her hands into the pristine sheet cake.

As Alison, Beth, and Cosima are laughing at the scene, Charity approaches them.

“Crackers.”

“What?” Alison asks.

“Do you have any crackers?”

“How should I know, Charity? Why don’t you go check the cracker cupboard,” Alison says sharply, shooing her away.

“Try slamming your head a few times with the cabinet door, you’ll find the crackers faster that way,” Beth shouts after her.

“You’re gonna make a great cop,” Cosima smirks.

“Hey, when it comes to high school bitches, I show no mercy.”

After some further mingling, Alison’s mother gathers everyone around the cake.

“At least this one doesn’t have Alison’s face on it,” Tony observes as this cake is simply decorated with a cap, diploma and Congratulations Graduates written in icing.

Alison’s mother makes a speech praising the graduates then cuts into the cake. As everyone is eating, Gram approaches Cosima.

“Cosima, I’ve got to get going.”

“So soon?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, my flight leaves in a few hours.”

“This visit was too quick. You better stay longer next time. Thank you so much for coming, it really meant so much to have you here. And thank you for the talk the other night.”

“I’ll always be there for you. In fact, I’m already looking forward to your college graduation. If you ever need to talk, I’m just a phone call away. Any time, day or night, okay?” Cosima nods. “I love you,” Gram pulls Cosima in for a tight squeeze.

“I love you, too, Gram.” Cosima looks at her folks, “Want me to come with you to the airport?”

“No, Cosima, stay with your friends, we’ll see you at home later,” Nancy says as she and Don walk to the front door with Gram.

After they leave, Sherry approaches Cosima and hands her a note. Cosima takes it and makes her way downstairs to the craft room. She sits down, takes a deep breath, and opens it.

_Dear Cosima,_

_I’m writing to let you know that I am leaving town. I have been staying with Sherry the last couple weeks, just thinking about what I want to do next, and I’ve decided the best thing is for me to go away. I’m sorry that I’m not telling you all this in person, but I didn’t want you to try to change my mind. This is something that I need to do, for me. Learning the truth about who I am, and that you kept it from me, has been a lot to take in, a lot to accept. I hate that you lied to me, but despite the anger and disappointment that I feel, I do still love you. You are always going to be important to me. I was overjoyed to learn that you had been named valedictorian, it is very well deserved. I know that you are going to do wonderfully at the University of Minnesota and that you will go on to do great things with your life. Please understand this was not a decision I came to lightly and I’m not doing this to hurt you. It hasn’t been easy to stay away from you, I have missed you so much, Cosima, and I know it won’t get any easier anytime soon, but I owe it myself to do this, to go out and discover who I am. I will never forget you, nor our time together, and hopefully, one day, we will see each other again._

_With Love,_  
 _Delphine_

Cosima closes the letter and starts to cry. She reaches into her clutch for a tissue, instead finding the microscope. She takes it out and stares at it for a moment, before more tears begin to fall. She then puts her head down on the table and closes her eyes.

“Returning to the scene of the crime?”

She looks up, sniffling, “Hey, Scotty.”

“This is where you and Delphine put your little fix-up plan into action.”

“It worked. You and Sarah are together.”

“Yeah, it did,” Scott sits down next to Cosima and hands her a tissue. “I heard you saw Delphine outside of graduation.”

Cosima nods as she wipes her eyes.

“I take it those tears, and her not being here, means it didn’t go well?”

“She’s leaving town, she could already be gone for all I know. She wasn’t even going to tell me in person, but I saw her and ran after her. She had been staying at Sherry’s and asked her to give me this note. She pretty much told me all this when we spoke, but it doesn’t hurt any less to read it.”

“How long will she be gone?”

“She doesn’t seem to be planning a return trip anytime soon.”

“I’m so sorry things turned out like this. I feel responsible.”

“Hey, stop, this is not your fault. If anything, you wanting to see the doll that night inadvertently gave me something I never would have had otherwise.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t fair, you two belong together. She’ll see it, Cosima, she has to.”

“I don’t know, man. I want that more than anything, believe me I do, but I can’t get my hopes up. I know she loves me, but this is something she needs to do and I have to respect her wishes. Trust me, if I thought there was a way to convince her to stay, I would have tried, but that’s selfish of me. She deserves to find her own happiness, and if that’s not with me, I have to accept it.”

Scott puts his arm around her, “There is no way she’s getting over you.”

Later that night, Cosima sits out on the roof and looks up into the sky. She’s clutching Delphine’s note in one hand and the microscope in the other. She makes a wish on the first star she sees. It’s the same wish she made before she blew out the candles on her birthday cake months earlier, for Delphine to be happy.

Meanwhile, Delphine steps off a plane, ready to start a new chapter in her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to everyone who correctly guessed Cosima's grandmother was at the door at the end of the last chapter. It's super cool that you all remembered her promise of returning for graduation, even though that conversation was published nearly two months ago. Four (slices of pizza) for you, commenters!


	30. The Science of Summer

In the two weeks since graduation, Cosima has rarely left the house, instead she’s been laying on the couch in her pajamas, eating junk food and playing video games.

“Cosima, do you plan to spend the entire summer in that position?” Nancy asks.

“Yup,” Cosima says, eyes not leaving the tv screen.

Nancy picks up the remote and shuts off the television.

“Hey,” Cosima shouts, finally looking at her mother.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me, Cosima. What happened to you continuing to live your life?”

“I will, in September, when I get to college, but right now I just wanna lay here and not think about anything except leading my inquisitor through her quest.”

“You mean that character that looks an awful lot like Delphine?”

Cosima stares at her wide-eyed. “You think she looks like Delphine?”

Nancy nods. “Look, Cosima, camp starts tomorrow, all the kids will be choosing their activities. Why don’t you come? You can run a science group, do experiments with the kids. You know how much they love you.”

Nancy runs a day camp at the Twin Peaks Rec Center for underprivileged kids in San Francisco and Cosima has volunteered there in past summers.

“Fine, I’ll go. Tomorrow. Right now, though, I need to complete this mission,” Cosima grabs the remote and turns the tv back on. She unpauses her game and continues playing. As soon as her mom leaves the room, Cosima pauses the game and stares at her inquisitor. “Fuck.”

The next morning, Nancy wakes Cosima up and, after a slow start getting out of the house, they make their way to the community center. When they walk into the gymnasium, they’re greeted by Alison and Beth.

“Hey, what are you guys doing here?” Cosima asks.

“We’re working here this summer. I’m running the soccer program and Beth is teaching fitness and self defense.”

“Cool.”

“What about you? Will the kids be getting another visit from Science Girl?”

“Looks like, though this time it’s gonna be a daily program. My mother refused to let me wallow on the couch for three months.”

“Good for her, now we get to spend lots of time with you before you leave for Minnesota,” Alison says happily and Cosima nods.

Just then, Tony walks in, accompanied by Jennifer Fitzsimmons. “What’s up, ladies? You all remember Jennifer from prom?”

“Of course, hello Jennifer. I’m sorry we didn’t introduce ourselves properly that night, I’m Alison, and this is Beth and Cosima.”

They all wave.

“It’s nice to see all of you again.”

“So, Jennifer, what brings you here?” Beth inquires.

“Tony said they were in need of a swim instructor.”

“Aren’t you working at the hotel?” Alison wonders.

“Yeah, but only on Friday and Saturday nights when they have formal dinners and events.”

“Why don’t I introduce you to my mom, she runs the the summer camp,” Cosima leads Jennifer to her mother’s office.

“Tony, what’s going on? You and Jennifer looked pretty close walking in here.” Beth asks with an eyebrow wiggle.

“We’re friends, been hanging out a little and she mentioned needing a day job, so here we are. Nothing more than that.”

“Do you want it to be?”

“I don’t know, she’s a great girl and we’ve hung out a couple times and talked on the phone a few more, but I think we have more of brother/sister vibe, sorta like it is with you guys.”

“Okay, future sister kisser, whatever you say,” Beth teases, not entirely convinced of Tony’s story.

“She also maybe, sorta has a crush on this guy, Greg, that she waits tables with, so yeah, there’s that.”

“Aha!” Beth shouts.

“Stop it, Elizabeth, whether Tony likes Jennifer or not is his business. I’ll see you at lunch, I’m going to go survey the soccer field, make sure it’s in tip-top shape for tomorrow.”

When Alison is gone, Tony gives Beth a playful shove, “I’m the sister kisser, huh?”

“Shut up, that was one time and we were both extremely inebriated,” Beth insists. “So you working here this summer, too?”

“I think I may sign-up to be a lifeguard at the pool.”

“Ha, I bet.”

Cosima and Jennifer return, “Well, she’s hired.”

“Nice! Congrats!” Tony exclaims.

“I’m really excited to spend the summer here and get to know all of you better.”

“Yeah, it’ll be great,” Cosima agrees. “Come on, I’ll show you to the pool.”

As soon as Cosima and Jennifer leave, Tony turns to Beth. “I’m gonna go talk to Nancy about the lifeguard gig, see ya later.”

Tony heads to the office while Beth picks up a dummy and starts beating it up.

“You can use this locker here,” Cosima says as she shows Jennifer around the locker room. “Today is orientation, the campers come in and sign up for the programs they want to participate in. They choose 4 different activities for the first month, then, at the end of those 4 weeks, they choose another 4 activities for the last month. It’s a camp for low-income families, so there’s no charge for the kids. We get donations and grants from the city to run it. The kids range in age from 5 to 14.”

“This sounds terrific.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty awesome and the kids are really appreciative.” Cosima leads Jennifer through a door at the back of the locker room, “Alright this is your pool. Each kid that signs up for swimming will have to take a test to assess their initial skill level. You’ll only have 12 kids max at a time and there will be a lifeguard assigned to watch over the pool as you teach. Since you already have your certificate for CPR training, you’re all good there. Do you have any questions?”

“No, I think I’m all clear on everything for the time being.”

“Cool, well we have some time to chill before the kids arrive.” Cosima takes off her sandals and sits at the edge of the pool, her legs dangling in the water. She pats the space next to her and Jennifer follows suit.

“Ooh, it’s heated, nice,” Jennifer smiles. “So, will your girlfriend be working here?”

“No, I, um, I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Oh, I just assumed that the blonde you were at prom with was your girlfriend from the way you two were dancing and, well, kissing.”

“No, I mean, yes, she was my girlfriend, I actually don’t know what we are anymore, but she left town, left me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too,” Cosima’s face saddens.

“Great, way to go, Jennifer, now I’ve upset you.”

“No, it’s alright you didn’t know. It just still hurts. But I’m here to try to get my mind off all that, off of her, cause she’s pretty much the only thing I’ve been thinking about.”

“Okay, from now on, that subject is off limits,” Jennifer mimes zipping her lips. “But if you ever want to talk, I’ve been told I’m a pretty good listener.”

“Thanks, I may take you up on that.”

“So where are you going to college?”

“University of Minnesota. I plan to study biology then go on to get my PhD in Evolutionary Development.”

“Wow, you must be pretty smart then, huh? Science was probably my worst subject in school.”

“Science has always been a passion of mine. My dad is a scientist, so it’s in the genes I guess. You’re going to the University of Arizona, right? What are you planning to study?”

“Yes, I will soon be a wildcat. I’m majoring in secondary education. I want to be a high school teacher, with a focus in English.”

“Is that something you’ve always wanted to do?”

“Actually, no, when I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian, but then my cat, Madison, died and I realized as much as I love and want to help animals, it would kill me to see so many of them die. Then I watched Dead Poet’s Society and that was it, I realized I wanted to teach and I want to be that kind of teacher, the kind that inspires their students. I also love poetry, so I want to concentrate on that.”

“O captain, my captain, what’s your favorite poem?”

“Water by Ralph Waldo Emerson”

Jennifer then recites the poem,

_The water understands_  
 _Civilization well;_  
 _It wets my foot, but prettily,_  
 _It chills my life, but wittily,_  
 _It is not disconcerted,_  
 _It is not broken-hearted:_  
 _Well used, it decketh joy,_  
 _Adorneth, doubleth joy:_  
 _Ill used, it will destroy,_  
 _In perfect time and measure_  
 _With a face of golden pleasure_  
 _Elegantly destroy._

“That’s beautiful.”

“Thanks!”

“As much as I’d like to keep chatting and getting to know you better, we should probably get back upstairs, the kids should be arriving any minute and we have to give little speeches introducing ourselves and our programs.”

Cosima and Jennifer put their shoes on and walk back upstairs to the gym where Nancy, Beth, Tony, Alison, and Helena are setting up tables.

“Helena, good to see you.”

“You too. I’m excited about finger painting with the little ones.”

“I’m sure they are, too. Do you remember Jennifer, she was our server at prom?”

“I remember your hairs, very pretty, like mermaid.”

“Thank you,” Jennifer smiles.

“And like a mermaid, Jennifer will be the swim instructor here this summer.”

Tony makes a little coughing sound.

“Oh, Tony,” Nancy says, “if you’re not busy this summer, would you like to assist Jennifer and lifeguard down at the pool?”

“Oh, wow, I hadn’t firmed up my summer plans yet, but, you know what, why not?”

Beth starts to laugh and Alison elbows her in the side.

The kids come running in, their parents following closely behind. Nancy makes a speech about the sign-up process, introduces the staff, and they discuss the different activities available. Then the kids walk around signing up for the ones they want to participate in. When all is said and done, they all have very healthy rosters of campers.

“Who’s up for pizza?” Beth asks as they get ready to leave for the night.

Alison, Tony, Jennifer and Helena raise their hands, then look expectantly at Cosima.

“I guess I could go for some pizza.”

“Yes!” Beth shouts.

“Have fun,” Nancy says as they all leave, happy that Cosima is getting out again.

“Have you heard from Sarah?” Cosima asks Helena in between bites.

“Yes, Sestra is camping with Cal at Yosemite. She was complaining about the heat.”

“I bet. Ya know, before Cal, I never would have imagined Sarah and camping being used in the same sentence,” Cosima laughs.

“I heard from Felix the other day, he is loving New York and his art class. I think it may have something to do with them painting nudes though,” Alison offers.

Scott walks into the pizzeria. “Hey Scotty!” Cosima waves him over. “We saved you a few slices.”

“Awesome, thanks, I’m starving.”

“How’s the job going?” Beth asks.

“Great,” he says through a mouthful of pizza. “I get to play video games all day, what’s not to love?”

“I freakin' got kicked off my couch for that. I should have convinced my mom I was a game tester.”

The next day, camp starts. Cosima actually gets up early to accompany her mom to the community center so she can decorate her room with science paraphernalia. Once the extreme science vibe is complete, she sets up for the kids’ first experiment.

At 9am, the kids come piling through the doors of the community center and head to their first activity of the day. 10 kids are in Cosima’s first group.

The kids all sit down at the tables. “Hey everyone, I’m Cosima and this is a program I like to call Summer Science Shenanigans. You’re gonna learn some fun experiments you can also do at home, but don’t blame me when your mom gets mad at you for destroying the kitchen.” The kids giggle. “First, I want to get to know all of you, so we’ll start on the right and I want everyone to tell me their name and favorite element.” The kids stare at her blankly. “Just kidding, tell me your name and favorite movie. The campers all introduce themselves and happily announce their favorite flicks. “Great, well my favorite film is Star Wars. How many of you have seen it?” About half the kids raise their hands. “Alright, cool, well the rest of you have to promise to watch it one day. Now, let’s get started. You’ll notice in front of each of you there is a water bottle and a bunch of balloons. On each table, there is also vinegar, baking soda, measuring cups, and a few funnels. Today we are going to make a fizz inflator. Basically, you are going to inflate a balloon using just those items. First up, pour half a cup of vinegar into the bottle. Okay great, now stretch the balloon a bit to loosen it up and then, using the funnel, you are going to fill the balloon a little more than half way with baking soda. Next is the tricky part, you want to carefully pull the neck of the balloon over the neck of the water bottle without getting any baking soda in the bottle.” Cosima demonstrates and the kids follow her lead. “Great, now lift up the ballon like this so the baking soda falls into the bottle.” Cosima’s ballon starts to inflate and the kids are shocked. As they make their attempts, there are several burst balloons, but a few of the kids do manage to get their balloons inflated on the first try. “Awesome! Okay if your balloon popped, you can try it again.” Most of the kids get it right on the second try, with a couple needing a third go at it. Cosima goes on show them some more experiments using a balloon, like trying to blow up the balloon as it is inside of an empty water bottle, which can’t be done.

As the days and weeks go on, Cosima continues having fun with the campers during the day, while hanging with her friends at lunch and after work, but at night she still feels that nagging loneliness. She’s getting more and more used to having the bed all to herself again, but the more she gets used to it, the more she wishes it was occupied. As she lays in bed staring at the ceiling, her mind drifts to thoughts of Delphine, wondering what she’s doing, if she thinks of her at all, if she still misses her like she said she did that day outside of graduation, if she still loves her. It’s thoughts like these that cause Cosima to cry herself to sleep. As much as she wants to be strong, wants to move on, stop these thoughts from constantly invading her mind, she can’t. Everybody says time heals all wounds, but Cosima isn’t so sure if this wound will ever fully heal. Delphine was her first love, after all, and you never forget your first love. It probably doesn’t help that Cosima keeps Delphine’s picture hanging on the cork board in her room and keeps a picture of the two of them as the wallpaper on her phone. She knows she should take that photo down, should change her phone’s wallpaper, but that feels like erasing Delphine from her life and she’s not willing to do that, not willing to let go completely.

The second month of summer camp begins and Cosima welcomes a new crop of campers to her science program. On little girl in particular takes a shine to Cosima, her name is Katie and she reminds Cosima a lot of herself at 7. She’s shorter than the other kids her age, wears glasses, and has a lot of spunk. She asks Cosima tons of questions, wanting to understand how everything works.

When Cosima teaches the kids the balloon inflation experiment, Katie raises her hand. “Yes, Katie?”

“How can vinegar and baking soda blow up a balloon?”

“Well, the baking soda and the vinegar create an acid-base reaction, basically the two of them work together to create a gas, in this case carbon dioxide. Gasses need lots of room to spread out, so the carbon dioxide starts to fill the bottle and then it works its way into the balloon and inflates it.”

“Wow!” Katie exclaims. She is endlessly fascinated. No matter what Cosima teaches them, she thinks it’s the most incredible thing ever.

Cosima shows them another simple experiment using just a bottle of water, a fast food ketchup packet, and a little kosher salt. She places the ketchup packet in the water bottle with a few tablespoons of salt and it floats. Then she squeezes the bottle and the ketchup packet sinks to the bottom.

Katie shoots her hand up.

Anticipating the question, Cosima starts her explanation. “By adding salt to the water, we adjusted the water's density to get the ketchup packet to float. The reason this works is because there’s a little bubble inside of the ketchup packet. Bubbles float, so the bubble in the ketchup is keeping the heavy packet from sinking. When we squeeze the bottle, we put pressure on the packet, which causes the bubble to get smaller and the packet to become more dense than the water around it, so the packet sinks. When we release our pressure, the bubble expands, making the packet less dense and, therefore, more buoyant, allowing it to float back up.”

“Awesome,” Katie says. Nothing fails to get this kid excited and Cosima has to admit she loves it when someone is just as enthralled by science as she is, even if it’s a 7 year old, or maybe especially since it’s a 7 year old.

On Friday, Cosima shows the kids how to make a hovercraft using a balloon, a CD, a pop-top cap, and a hot glue gun. As soon as the balloon lifts the CD off the table, the kids go insane. Katie can’t believe her eyes and starts scribbling in her notebook. At the end of the class, Cosima walks over to Katie. “Whatcha writing in there?”

“I wrote down everything you showed us this week, I can’t wait to go home and show my brother these experiments, he’s gonna flip. He thinks science is stupid and only likes sports, but I’m gonna show him how cool it is.”

Cosima gives Katie a high five, “Yeah, you show him how cool science is, Katie. Have a nice weekend!”

“I will, it’s my birthday!”

“Wow, well Happy Birthday, have fun.”

“Thanks, see you Monday,” Katie waves as she exits the room. Katie’s enthusiasm is infectious and Cosima can’t stop smiling as she meets her friends to go to the movies.

“What’s got you so happy today, Dreads?”

“Science, Tony, science.”

That weekend, Cosima spends an inordinate amount of time coming up with new experiments to do with the campers. She’s looking over the list of supplies she needs for one of them, then wanders downstairs to her dad’s lab.

“Dad, do you have any dry yeast?”

“Yeast?”

“It’s for an experiment I want to do with the kids this week, to make foam.”

“No, unfortunately I do not have any yeast on hand, but we can go to the store and get some tomorrow. You’re really into this, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s been fun. And I have this one kid, Katie, she gets so excited by everything we do and I feel like if I’ve gotten even just one kid, especially a little girl, interested in science, then I’ve done something right.”

“That’s how it felt for me with you. Have I told you lately how proud I am of everything you’ve accomplished?”

Cosima smiles, “Maybe not in the last 48 hours.”

“Well I should be telling you daily, Cosima, because I am extremely proud of you, and not just because you’re following in your old man’s footsteps, but because you’re forging your own path and others will follow you.” Don’s eyes begin to tear up and Cosima grabs him for a hug.

“Thanks Dad, and I don’t know if I’ve told you this lately, but I love you.”

“I love you, too, Kiddo.”

On Monday, Cosima is setting up for the foam experiment when the kids start arriving. Katie comes bounding in joyfully and makes a beeline straight for Cosima.

“Hi Cosima!”

“Hi Katie, how was your party?”

“Great, we went to the park and jumped on a bouncy, then we had pizza and ice cream cake.”

“Ooh, you had all my favorite things. I’m glad you had such a great time.”

“Would you like to meet my new doll?”

“Sure.”

Katie reaches into her backpack and pulls out the toy. She holds her up towards Cosima, “Her name’s Barbie and she’s a rockstar.”

Cosima is stunned, she hasn’t been this close to a Barbie doll, since, well, since that fateful night. She stares at the doll for several seconds before composing herself, “She is very cool, Katie, and I love her guitar. I got a Barbie like her for my birthday when I was your age.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, she was amazing, I really loved playing with her. We had a lot of fun together.”

“Do you still have her?”

“No, I, uh, I lost her recently.”

“Maybe you’ll find her.”

“I’d like to, but I don’t know where she could be.”

“Sometimes when I can’t find something, mom tells me to stop looking and it’ll turn up.”

“That’s very wise advice. Come on, I’m gonna teach you how to make a foamy fountain.” Katie runs off to join the other campers around the front table. Cosima quickly wipes away a tear that’s traveling down her cheek, takes a deep breath, and starts the lesson.

Cosima hands out goggles to the kids. She carefully pours hydrogen peroxide into a soda bottle, then in a separate cup, she lets one of the kids, Drew, add dry yeast and water, then stir it up. Cosima adds dish soap to the bottle and asks Katie to choose a food coloring. She doesn’t hesitate to grab purple and Cosima lets her squeeze it into the soda bottle. It’s time for the final step, Katie pours the cup of mixed yeast and water into the soda bottle through a funnel. Once it’s all in, Cosima pulls out the funnel and the kids scream with delight as purple foam instantly erupts throughout the bottle and pours out of the neck.

“How’d you do that?” Katie asks, amazed.

“The magic of science,” Cosima smiles, then goes on to explain the exothermic reaction that took place. The kids beg her to do it again and they run the experiment about 6 more times with different colored foam, causing them to squeal with delight each time.

After work, Cosima heads over to Golden Gate Park and stretches out on the grass, observing the people, the birds in the trees, and the flowers all around her. She looks to her right and sees a Dandelion in its final seed stage. She plucks it from the ground, twirls it in front of her face, then blows the seeds and watches the wind carry them away. Suddenly, she sits up, grabs her phone and dials.

“Hey, this is Cosima Niehaus, can I come by in like 30 minutes? Cool, see you then.” Cosima stands up, brushes herself off, and heads to the nearest BART station.

Over the next three weeks, Cosima, spurred on by the enthusiasm of Katie and the rest of the kids, works hard to make the experiments bigger and better. For the final day of camp, Cosima teaches them to make lava lamps in glass bottles with water, vegetable oil, food coloring, and Alka-Seltzer. As the kids leave with their finished project, Katie runs up to Cosima and gives her a big hug.

“This was the best summer ever,” Katie exclaims. “Will you come back next year?”

“We’ll see, but I’m so glad you enjoyed camp and I want you to know that you made my summer a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be, so thank you for that, Katie.”

“Anytime.” Katie smiles and heads for the door, then turns once more towards Cosima, “Have a good time at college.”

“Thanks, enjoy the third grade.”

Cosima cleans up her room and joins the rest of the staff in the gymnasium. There are tables full of food and drinks. She joins her friends as Nancy begins speaking.

“I just want to thank all of you for making this a hugely successful summer with a record number of kids attending. I truly hope you will all consider joining us again next summer.”

“Even Tony?” Beth shouts and everyone laughs.

“Yes, even Tony,” Nancy grins. “Please help yourselves to the food and enjoy this end of camp celebration.”

Cosima fills up her plate and sits down next to Jennifer. “So, Jennifer, when do you leave for Arizona?”

“Classes start on the 24th, so I’m going to drive down on Tuesday.”

“Alone?” Alison asks.

“Actually…” Jennifer starts.

“I’m gonna drive with her, so we can take turns at the wheel,” Tony interrupts. “I’ll help get her dorm room in order, then I’m gonna fly out to Hawaii on Saturday. Classes start for me on the 24th also.”

“I’m so grateful that Tony offered to accompany me. Put me in the water and I’m all good, but put me behind the wheel and I lose all sense of direction.”

Beth smiles at Tony and he sticks his tongue out at her.

“When do leave, Cosima?” Jennifer inquires.

“My classes actually start pretty late, on September 8th, so I’m not flying out until the 4th.”

“Nice, we have you for a little while longer,” Beth exclaims.

“We should all do something Sunday night, since Tony and Jennifer will be leaving so soon,” Alison suggests.

“My parents are going away this weekend and they don’t get back until Monday, so we can do it at my place, but just us this time, Tony,” Cosima warns.

“You got it, Dreads.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind spending the weekend alone, Cosima?” Nancy asks the next morning as she and Don get ready to leave for the airport.

“Yeah, totally, and the gang will be over for a little get together tomorrow night, so I won’t be alone the whole time. Besides, I should really get used to being on my own, the two of you won’t be checking up on me in Minnesota, will you?”

“Maybe,” Nancy responds.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Don announces, rushing into the office and back, “this came for you yesterday, you got back so late and I forgot to give it you. It’s from school.”

Cosima opens the envelope and reads the letter, “It’s my dorm and roommate assignment, I’m in Middlebrow with a girl named Shay. That’s a cool name.”

“Why don’t you give her a call later? Get to know her a bit,” Nancy suggests. “We better get going. We’ll call you as soon as we land.”

“Alright, have fun, and Happy Anniversary!” Cosima hugs her parents and they head out.

Cosima takes the letter upstairs, then gets showered and dressed. After, she sits on her bed and dials Shay’s number.

“Hi, this is Cosima Niehaus… yeah, looks like we’ll be roomies this year… I’m a bio major, you?… Physiology, that’s cool… Oh wow, holistic medicine, nice… No, I don’t think that sounds too hippyish. Wait till you meet me, I’ve been called a hippie a few times… For real. Do you know a lot of girls with dreads?… No, I do…. I swear… Yup, I’m also tatted and I have a nose piercing… Yes, I’m really a bio major… I know, I’m not the typical science nerd. Well, I can’t wait to meet you… Yeah, totes, I’ll text you a list of stuff I’m shipping out there and you do the same. Then we can get whatever else we need together… I arrive on the 4th… Awesome, see you then… I’m looking forward to meeting you, too. Bye.”

Cosima ends the call with a smile, happy that her future roommate seemed really great. Just then the doorbell rings and she runs down to see who it could be. She looks through the peep hole, then immediately opens the door.

“You’re finally back!” Cosima hollers

“Yeah, nice to see you too, Cos,” Sarah grins as Cosima embraces her.

“Is there any park Cal didn’t drag you to?”

“Oh my god, no.”

“How was RV life?”

“Not too bad, I mean the company was good at least.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t around more this summer though.”

“Don’t worry about it, you’re here now.”

“Yeah, but you won’t be soon.”

“I still have a couple more weeks. When does Cal head back to LA?”

“He’s left this morning.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, that must have been hard.”

“Yeah, but we’ll see each other again soon. Right now, I want to hang with you. Helena told me about the party tomorrow and that your parents are away.”

“Yeah, it’s their anniversary, they went to Vegas of all places, my Dad got tickets to Love for this evening.”

“I’m sure that won’t be the only kind of love they get to tonight.”

“Yuck, stop.”

“I figured with your parents gone, I would stay with you this weekend.”

“I don’t need a babysitter, Sarah.”

“Who said anything about a babysitter? Look, Cos, I know you don’t like being alone, I just thought you could use some company. I promise I won’t make you go to bed at 11.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“Don’t look so excited.”

“I’m sorry, Sarah, I appreciate you wanting to be here with me, I just feel like everybody thinks I’m incapable of being by myself.”

“Nobody thinks that, but if you don’t have to be alone, then why should you? Look, I know last time your parent went away you weren’t alone.”

“Yeah, Scotty stayed over.”

“I mean besides Scott.”

“Is that why you’re really here? You worried I’m gonna think about Delphine and, like, freak out or something? She’s been gone for months, Sarah.”

“I know, Cos, and I don’t think you're gonna freak out, but I do think you might be sad.”

“I am, I am sad that she’s gone and we haven’t spoken, that I have no idea where she is, but I’m okay, I swear. I had camp to keep me busy this summer and that was great. And now I’m getting ready to move to Minnesota and start college. Oh, and I just spoke to my roommate, her name is Shay and she sounds really cool.”

“Good, I’m glad. But I’m still staying this weekend. And to be honest, I’m not being completely selfless, I’m staying here for myself as much as for you. I’m gonna miss my little geek monkey.”

“I’m gonna miss you, too.” They both start to tear up, then crack up laughing.

“Ugh, we are such bloody losers,” Sarah snorts as she wipes her eyes with her sleeve. “Come on, let’s go get lunch.”

Later that night Cosima and Sarah stay up til 3am watching movies. The next day, Sarah helps her pick up snacks and drinks for the party.

Beth and Alison are the first to arrive at 6:30, followed by Scott, Sarah Stubbs, Tony, Jennifer, Art, Felix, and Helena. They all settle around the coffee table, eating and reminiscing. At 7:15, there’s a knock at the door.

“Who could that be?” Cosima wonders as she gets up and heads towards the door. She’s shocked when she looks through the peep hole and finds a familiar blonde bob. She quickly runs back into the living room, “Hey, what should I do, Rachel is at the door?”

“Oh, um, I may have invited her,” Alison admits.

“You did what?” Sarah yells.

“I ran into her at the mall earlier and she looked kind of lonely, so I invited her over, I didn’t know if she’d actually show up, so I didn’t mention it.”

“Great. Let’s just stay real quiet and maybe she’ll go away,” Sarah decides.

“No, she must have seen your cars, besides, if she’s lonely, that’ll make her feel worse, I’m letting her in,” Cosima says, ignoring Sarah’s protests, as she heads back to the door and opens it up. “Rachel, nice to see you, come on in.”

Rachel enters and looks around, “I like what you’ve done with the place in the last 10 years.”

“Thanks. Everyone is in the living room.” She shows Rachel in, “Guys, look who’s here.”

“Hi Rachel,” Alison welcomes her warmly.

Everyone else waves and grunts phony greetings.

“I don’t know you,” Rachel points at Jennifer.

“Oh, I’m Jennifer Fitzsimmons, I think I waited on you at prom.”

“I see. Did they hire you to serve us tonight? I could really use a Perrier.”

“No, Rachel, Jennifer is a guest, and we are fresh out of Perrier, but I have regular bottled water,” Cosima says, handing one over.

“Rachel, where are you going to college,” Alison asks as Rachel sits down on the couch.

“Oxford, just like my father did.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“Yeah, wonderful for us, not so wonderful for England,” Sarah mumbles, earning an elbow in the side from Cosima.

“I don’t think I got the chance to tell you all, but I really enjoyed your Spice Girls routine,” Jennifer says.

“That was actually Rachel’s idea, we performed it together in the 5th grade,” Alison responds.

“You made an excellent Posh.”

“Thank you, Jennifer,” Rachel manages a smile.

“Rachel, now that we’re out of school and it’s just us here, tell us, were the rumors true about you and Mr. Rosen?” Sarah asks. “Were you doing him?”

“Sarah!” Alison chastises.

“I actually have been wondering the same thing.”

“You, too, Elizabeth?”

“It’s okay, I’ll answer. No, I was not, as you said, doing him.”

“For real?” Beth asks.

“It was just an innocent flirtation.”

“Damn,” Sarah says, shaking her head, “I was sure you were doing the do.”

“What about Martin?” Beth asks.

“Yes, Martin I was doing.” They all laugh at her blunt honesty, including Rachel.

“Are you two ready for the police academy,” Scott asks Beth and Art.

“You’re damn right, I am,” Beth insists.

“I cannot wait,” Art agrees.

“I bet I do better than you, Dipshit.”

“Oh yeah? You wanna bet?”

“Hell yeah, I bet you dinner at that fancy new steakhouse on Van Ness,” Beth challenges.

“You’re on, Childs.” They shake on it. “I can’t wait to order the most expensive item on the menu.”

“Then you better be prepared to pay for that steak and mine. Maybe I’ll even get the lobster, a little surf and turf.”

When the smack talking ends, Cosima brings out Cards Against Humanity and they end up playing for hours, the living room filling with laughter. As Cosima looks around at her friends having fun, she can’t help the ache in her heart that Delphine is not there with them and she hopes that wherever she is, Delphine is having fun, too.

As the night winds down, everyone looks at Tony and Jennifer. “Man, this sucks,” Beth says. “We were just getting to know you, JFitz, and now you’re leaving, and Tony, what are we gonna do without you?”

“I’ll still text you dirty pictures,” Tony laughs, hugging Beth.

“I definitely want to keep in touch with you guys, you all have my Skype, right?” Jennifer asks and everyone nods. Jennifer then hugs each of them.

“Jennifer?”

“Yes, Helena?”

“When you swim, wear a cap, your hair is too pretty to be ruined by the chlorine.”

Jennifer laughs, “Thank you for the advice, I will.”

Tony looks at all his friends and starts to tear up. “Would you look at that, Tony’s getting emotional,” Felix teases.

“Shut up, Felix,” Tony musses up his hair. “Damn, I am going to miss you all something fierce. Find a way to get your asses to Hawaii, we’ll have a luau, chill on the beach, it’ll be incredible.”

“We’ll try,” Sarah says as she pulls him in for a hug. He then makes his way around the room, hugging everyone. Cosima walks him outside and Jennifer goes on ahead to the car, leaving them to talk.

“Dreads,” he lifts her chin up to look at him, “you’re gonna be alright.” She nods unconvincingly. “Hey, come on, you’re a fucking genius, and, yeah, life has thrown you some shitty curves lately, but I had a dream the other night and you were so happy in it. So, I am telling you, and you better listen, you’re gonna hold your head up high, walk into that school, and kick ass like you did here. Things are gonna work out just fine for you, I can feel it.”

“Thanks, Dude,” Cosima hugs him tightly. “I want you to do something for me.”

“Anything. You name it.”

“Tell that girl how you feel. I know you think you’ll be in Hawaii and there will be plenty of fish in the sea, but when you find that prize catch, you don’t let her go. Trust me. Okay?”

“Okay,” he agrees. “Later, Dreads.” Tony kisses her on the cheek and runs down to the car where Jennifer is waiting. Cosima waves them off and heads back inside.

Everyone helps clean up before calling it a night. Before Rachel leaves, she turns to the group. “I just want to tell you that I was wrong about all of you. You’re not the boring commoners I thought you were.”

“Wow, well thank you, Rachel. And you’re not the uptight bitch we thought you were,” Sarah smirks. “Good luck at Oxford.”

“Yes, and best of luck at community college, Sarah,” Rachel says as she leaves.

“Nah, she’s still a bitch,” Sarah insists once Rachel is gone. Everyone else takes off soon after, leaving just Sarah and Cosima behind. They go upstairs. “Night, Cos,” Sarah says as she heads to the guest room.

“Sarah?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you mind if I stayed in the guest room with you tonight?”

“You’re not gonna try anything, are you?”

“Very funny. No, Sarah, you’re not my type.”

“Oi, why not? It’s cause I’m not blonde, init?”

“Shut up,” Cosima pushes her into the guest room and they lay down on the bed.

After about an hour Sarah rolls over and looks at Cosima, who is staring at the ceiling.

“Whatcha thinking about?”

“Oh, um, Buckminster Fuller, and Sacred Geometry.”

Sarah laughs. “I’m sure she’s thinking about you, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Actually, I think she’s probably thinking about me, probably has been since she oh so accidentally kissed me that day in the bathroom.” Cosima smacks her arm. “No, seriously, Cos, there’s no way she’s not thinking about you. She came to watch you graduate, who does that with someone they break up with? Graduations are boring as fuck, but she showed up. You really think she thought she’d sneak in and out undetected? Bullshit. You said you looked right at her when you gave your speech, she could have taken off right then, but she waited. She wanted you to follow her, she wanted to see you again. Hell, she kissed you, didn’t she? Maybe she thought that was closure or whatever, but I know she’s out there somewhere and she’s got Cosima on the brain, I’d bet my life on it.”

“Ugh, why can’t we have little switches we can turn off when someone leaves to stop thinking about them?”

“Maybe cause every experience, every love, contributes to who we are and who we’re going to be. Hell, I’d love to forget I ever dated Vic, but that whole experience just made me a stronger, more confident person, and allowed me to appreciate Cal, and the good guy he is, so much more. And who knows, maybe you’ll go to college and meet a great girl. Hey, maybe even that roommate of yours. Shay, was it? You said she sounded cool.”

“She did, but I’m not looking to date right now.”

“Hey, don’t be closed off to anything, Cos, you deserve to get on with your life, even Delphine wanted that for you.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Great, now can we please go to sleep? Count Buckmaster Fullers if you need to.”

“Buckminster,” Cosima laughs.

“Whatever, just count your bucks.”

Sarah falls asleep quickly, and Cosima follows suit not long after.

During the next week, everyone starts getting more and more prepped for college. Tony helps Jennifer get settled at school and finally works up the courage to tell her he likes her and she admits she likes him, too. They agree to date, but, given that they’ll be long distance, they both give the other permission to see other people, though they both secretly know they won’t. As Friday rolls around, Scott says goodbye to Sarah Stubbs in the morning, who’s off to Northwestern, while he gets ready to leave the next day for Wisconsin. He spends Friday night with Cosima, playing video games.

“Dude, I can’t believe this is it,” Cosima finally says as midnight nears and Scott needs to head home.

“Cosima, you know I’m not gonna be too far away, Wisconsin and Minnesota, it’s only an hour flight between them and like a four hour drive. Whenever you need me, I’ll be there for you. I’m also just a phone call away.”

“I know, Scotty, ditto. Shit, I feel like it was only yesterday I saved your ass on that playground and now look at us, we’re going to college.”

“Who’s gonna rescue me now?”

“You don’t need rescuing anymore, man. No one will screw with you and, if they do, you can handle them.”

“I’ll miss you, Cosima.”

“I’ll miss you, too, Scotty. You’ve been the best friend anyone could ask for.”

“You too, Cosima.” They embrace and both of them start to tear up. They break apart and wipe at their eyes. “See you.”

“Bye.” Scott leaves and Cosima’s tears begin to fall more forcefully.

“It’s not easy, huh?” Nancy asks, seeing Cosima’s tears.

“No, it’s not.”

“One more week til I’m the one with the tears.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me, Mom.”

Over the next week, Cosima starts packing and shipping things out to Minnesota.

“Cosima, do you really need to bring that puppy?”

“Yes, Mom, it’s important to me.”

“Okay, what about all those books? I’m sure you can get them in the library.”

“Fine, you’re right, but I am taking this one.” She packs The Origin of Species.

“What about warm clothing?”

“I’ve got my red coat, a bunch of scarves, boots, sweaters, I think I’m pretty ready for the cold.”

“I don’t know if you’re ever ready for that kind of cold. Just stay indoors as much as possible.”

Cosima laughs, “Okay, I’ll have to find some indoor activities to partake in.”

“Cosima, are you sure you don’t want your father and I to come with you, get you settled?”

“No, really, it’s better this way. I don’t want everyone’s first impression of me to be that I’m a crying baby. Besides, you’ll be up for parents weekend in a month.”

When September 4th finally arrives, Cosima wakes up to the smell of pancakes. She goes downstairs to find a few extra bodies around the kitchen table.

“Sarah, Beth, and Alison stopped by to say goodbye,” Nancy says.

“Yeah and for breakfast,” Beth admits.

“I’m sure breakfast was number 1 and I was number 2,” Cosima says as she joins them.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Sarah jokes.

After breakfast, the girls wait while Cosima gets dressed. Then they hang out for a little while longer until it’s time for Don and Nancy to drive Cosima to the airport.

“You sure you three don’t wanna come with? I’ve got a pretty big suitcase.”

“I think we’ll wait til after the winter to pay you a visit,” Sarah responds.

“Yeah, that’s probably a wise decision. Besides, I’ll be back for Thanksgiving.” The four of them stare silently at each other. “Damn, I’m gonna miss you assholes.”

“We’ll miss you, too, dork,” Beth replies.

“Cosima, eat well, exercise, try to join some groups, don’t stay in the lab all day,” Alison advises.

“I’ll try, Alison, thanks for your concern, truly.” Cosima and Alison hug.

“Don’t blow anything up, either,” Beth cautions.

“And you don’t go shooting anybody who doesn’t shoot first, officer.” Cosima and Beth embrace.

“Dammit, Cos, why do you have to be so, I don’t know, you?” Sarah wonders. “You are unlike anybody I’ve ever met. The way you see the world, it’s fascinating, makes me want to look at the world through your eyes. You are a brilliant fucking scientist and that school probably doesn’t know how lucky they are to have you, but they will.”

“Thanks, Sarah,” Cosima says as they hug tightly.

They all look at each other one more time before sharing a group hug.

“Later,” Cosima says and they all wave as she gets in the car and Don pulls out of the driveway.

They arrive at the airport and Don unloads all of Cosima’s bags. She checks in curbside, then turns back to her parents.

“I changed my mind, come with me.”

Nancy laughs, “You can do this, Cosima.”

Cosima nods solemnly.

“Kiddo, I know I’ve told you this now a million times, but I am so proud of you, I don’t think there’s a prouder father on Earth than I am right now.” Cosima wraps her arms around his waist and hugs him as he kisses her on the forehead.

Nancy starts to cry as Cosima lets go of Don and looks at her. “You will always be my baby, you know that? Even when you’re fifty, you’ll still be my little girl. I love you and I can’t wait to hear about all the amazing experiences you’ll be having at school.”

“I love you both, so, so much. I’ll see you in a month.” Cosima shares one last tearful hug with her folks before she heads into the airport. She arrives at the gate just as boarding gets underway. She gets on the plane and takes her window seat, staring outside at San Francisco as the plane departs. During the three and a half hour flight, Cosima immerses herself in The Origin of Species. No matter how many times she reads it, she always discovers something new.

The plane lands and she make her way to baggage claim, where a man her father hired is waiting with her name displayed on a sign. He helps her collect all her bags and leads her to an SUV. When they arrive at the school, he brings all the bags up to her dorm room and she tips him like her father told her to.

Once he’s gone, she surveys the room. It’s pretty empty minus her luggage, the boxes she shipped in advance and one lone black suitcase on a bed that must belong to Shay. Cosima takes the other bed and starts to unpack. In one of the boxes is all her bed linens, along with the stuffed puppy. She tosses them all on the bed and starts unpacking the next box, and then the next, before getting to her luggage. Before she knows it, her belongings are strewn around the room.

As she kneels, going through her last bag, the door to the room swings open behind her.

“Shit, sorry, sorry, I know it’s a mess in here,” Cosima apologizes, hearing the door shut again.

“I’m used to it,” the person at the door says.

Cosima freezes. _It can’t be_ , she thinks. Her mind must be playing tricks on her. She slowly stands up and turns around. Her eyes go wide, taking in the figure at the door, while her heart starts racing.

“Hello Cosima.”

“Delphine?”


	31. Follow Your Heart

“Yes, it’s really me,” Delphine says softly.

Cosima doesn’t move, just stares at Delphine, confused.

“Uh, yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean that like I was questioning you being real again, just, um, what are you doing here? Have you been in Minnesota all this time?

“No, I arrived in town last night. I’ve been waiting for you.” Delphine stays by the door, unsure if closer proximity is desired on Cosima’s part. “So, how have you been?”

“How have I been?” Cosima scoffs. “Well, I could barely go 45 minutes without seeing you, how do you think I did going 3 months without you?”

“I'm sorry,” Delphine answers, sadness evident on her face.

“No, no, don't apologize, it's my fault you left, I know that. This summer has just been really hard. I mean, I was working at my mom’s summer camp, doing science experiments with the kids, and that was fun, but you were never very far from my mind.”

“You were always on my mind,” Delphine admits.

“Yeah?” Cosima asks and Delphine nods. “Delphine, I’m sorry I lied to you, it was wrong, I know that, but, honestly, I'm also kinda not sorry. I mean, if I had told you the truth right from the start and you had run off then, none of our time together would have happened. I'd rather go the rest of my life never seeing you again than never having been with you at all. I have never been happier in my life than when I was with you and, yeah, I may have been depressed as hell when you left, but I'll never say it wasn't worth it. I’m sorry that I hurt you, that I couldn't be honest about who you were. And you may never forgive me, I get it. But you can't say that you didn't feel the same way about me that I felt about you. And you can't say that we didn't have a great time together or that we didn't love each other. And I know it was all built on one huge lie, but that lie doesn't negate everything else. You weren't the only one who started living that day, Delphine.”

“Cosima, I’ve spent these last few months just thinking. Thinking about everything we shared, everything that transpired. And when I thought it through, the one thing that was abundantly clear was that I wouldn’t have a life if it wasn’t for you and what you did that night. I would still be in a box in the back of your closet. I thought of every moment we spent together and all the times you worried about me, looked out for me, every comforting word you said, every look you gave me, every touch, every kiss. It was all because you cared about me. And of course I felt the same way you did, but the whole thing, me being a doll, you lying about it, it was just too much to take. I know leaving wasn’t fair to you, but I had to.”

“I know, you had to go find yourself.” Cosima pauses, “Hold on, you said you’ve been waiting for me. How’d you know when I’d get here, what room I’d been assigned?”

“I had some help gathering that information.”

“Help? From who? Delphine, where have you been?”

“Miami.”

“Miami? Why Mia-” A thought occurs to her, “No way, you haven’t been -”

Delphine cuts her off, “I’ve been staying with your grandmother.”

“Gram? No. How could she keep this from me?”

“She wanted to tell you, believe me, but I begged her to not to. I needed this time on my own. Don’t blame her, she’s actually helped me immensely.”

“Okay, well I can’t say I’m not relieved you weren’t alone all this time. How did you end up with my grandmother in Miami?”

“After I left you at graduation, I went to the airport, but when I got there I didn’t know where to go. I thought about going to Paris, but I didn’t have a passport. Then I scanned all the domestic departures, hoping one of the destination cities would spark something in me, but they just made me more confused. So I sat there, oh god I must have looked insane, but I sat down and just cried. A couple hours or so later, someone tapped me on the shoulder, I thought I was going to be asked to stop loitering and leave the airport, but it was Gram. She spotted me when she was checking in for her flight. She was concerned seeing me like that and said that you had told her I was leaving town. I explained that I didn’t know where to go and she tried to convince me to go back, back to you, but I said I couldn’t, that I needed a fresh start. She asked where my parents where and I told her I didn’t have any. That’s when she suggested I go with her to Miami. She didn’t think it was safe for me to be traveling on my own. The last minute ticket was quite pricey though, but, despite my protests, she insisted on paying. She said I could make it up to her by working at the clinic over the summer.”

“Okay, let me get this straight, for the last three months you’ve been in Miami working at Gram’s clinic?”

“Yes.”

“So you’ve been her employee and her houseguest?”

Delphine nods and Cosima sits down on her bed and rubs her temples, trying to take in all this new information.

Delphine tentatively steps further into the room and sits down on the edge of the other bed, facing Cosima.

“She knows,” Delphine says and Cosima looks up. “On the plane to Miami, I told her the truth about me. She was confused about me not having parents, since it wasn’t something you or I had mentioned before. I said I was an orphan and I thought she would accept that. Then she asked about my life in France. I regurgitated information I learned from the internet, declared my love for the Seine, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower. She said that those were all tourist traps and asked if there were any lesser known places I enjoyed. I couldn’t think of any others and she remarked, in jest, that it didn’t seem like I was really from France. I guess I don’t have a very good poker face, because she looked into my eyes and said, ‘You’re not from France are you?’ I couldn’t lie to her, so I told her no. When she asked where I was really from, I said it was complicated. She said that I was just as evasive answering questions as you are. It just kind of came out after that, I mean one thing that I had been worried about was that I was abnormal, inside, that I’d suddenly go back to being a doll. Since she’s a doctor, I thought she could assess my condition. So I said it, I said I was your doll. She looked at me like I was crazy.”

“I bet.”

“I told her that I know it sounds implausible, but that you and Scott were fooling around in your father’s lab and somehow I went from being your Barbie doll to, well, me.”

“And she believed that? Even I know it’s true and it sounds far-fetched.”

“I’m not entirely sure she believes it even now. I said the reason I left you was because you kept the truth from me, that for the longest time I had no recollection of my prior form. I guess she knew from talking with you that you had been lying to me about something, so she accepted my explanation and said she would examine me the next day.”

“And how did that go?”

“Surprisingly well, actually. She ran a battery of tests and everything was fine. She did observe that, based on my blood work, x-rays, and organ function, it was as if I had been kept hermetically sealed all my life, that everything had developed as it should for a 17 year old, but was rather pristine.”

“Well I could have told you that you’re perfect,” Cosima states.

“Cosima.”

“Sorry, but it’s true. And what about the risk of regressing back to a doll?”

“Nothing in her tests would indicate that is a possibility.”

“Oh, thank god,” Cosima exclaims. “So, um, is that why you’re here, to tell me you’ll be okay?”

Delphine shakes her head, “No.”

“So why are you here?”

“I’m here because I missed you, I missed your face.” Cosima mouth drops open at this confession as Delphine continues, “I missed waking up in the morning and watching you sleep. I missed watching your eyes open as your alarm sounds, followed by that look of disgust you get when you realize how early it is. I missed the way you’d lay in my lap when we watched movies. I missed sneaking downstairs in the middle of the night with you to eat Eskimo Pies. I missed kissing you until you fell asleep and the feeling of absolute contentment as I drifted off soon after.” Delphine stops and looks into Cosima’s eyes.

“Are you saying that you’re here for me? To be with me again?” Cosima’s voice is full of hope.

“Yes, that is, if you haven’t moved on.”

“Moved on?” Cosima laughs. “I've barely moved at all since you left. I've had no desire to be with anybody else. And, honestly, I don't think I ever will. What about you, you haven't met anyone else?”

“I didn't leave you with the intention of finding someone else, Cosima. I don't want anybody else, I was just angry and confused.”

“And you're not angry and confused anymore?” Cosima asks.

“I was angry, very angry, for a while. But then I'd go for a walk and see a bird fly overhead and I'd wonder what kind of bird it was, so I'd look over to ask you, but you weren't there to tell me. Or I'd go the beach and watch the tide roll in and lament that I didn't have you to kiss me in the sand as it washed over us. And one weekend, a few of the girls at the clinic invited me along on a trip to Disney World. I didn't want to go, but they insisted, they said I couldn’t spend all my free time alone. I tried to have a good time, I really did, but all I could think about was you, that you weren’t there to hold my hand on the roller coasters, that you weren't there to make out with me on the Ferris Wheel. And then I'd look at all the children laughing and running from ride to ride while their parents smiled and snapped photos and I thought of what you said about taking your kids to Disneyland one day and I realized how much I wanted that, with you, with our kids. The anger that I felt at you for keeping the truth from me was nowhere near as strong as the ache in my heart caused by being away from you.”

Cosima smiles, “Really?”

Delphine nods, “I also realized, and I don't know how this is even possible, but I realized that I've loved you for the last 10 years, Cosima. While I was in Miami, I’d lay in bed at night and think of you and I’d be flooded with memories. But not just recent memories, ones from the past, when you were a child. I remember watching Star Wars with you. I remember you listening to French tapes and how poorly you pronounced the words. I remember studying the periodic table of elements as you sang that song. I remember tea parties with just you, me, tea and croissants. And even though my participation was very minimal, and you did the really bad French speaking for me, I remember experiencing it all and feeling your love and loving you back. And I remember spending two years in the dark, until one day a bright beam of light woke me up and there you were and you were everything you had always been except this time I could actively participate in our interactions. I could actually hold your hand rather than just have mine held. I could kiss you back, rather than just be kissed. And I don't know why it took me so long to remember, maybe I wasn't supposed to, maybe it would have been too much to handle too soon. Maybe I was supposed to learn to love you as the new me before I could accept the old me. And in these months away from you, I did learn to accept what I was. I spent a lot of time wondering how this could even happen, how I could be a doll one day and a human the next, and, yeah, we can blame it on science and whatever happened in the lab that night with the lightning and your dad's machine, but the only explanation that truly makes sense is love. The love that you had for me and I had for you was stronger than logic or reason. Love made me whole and placed me on your doorstep. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't want to spend any more time away from you, because we were given a gift, a chance to be together and it would be wrong not to accept a gift like that and cherish and hold onto it forever. I understand why you didn't tell me the truth, if I was in your shoes, I probably would have done the same thing because I couldn't bear to lose you and I'm sorry that I left you like that. It wasn't fair to either of us.”

Tears begin to fall from both of their eyes. “What about everything you said, needing to find yourself, that I was all you know?”

“I have found myself, Cosima. I’ve realized that I can be with you and also be my own person. That I can have friends, have interests, separate from you, but still have you. I mean if you still want me.”

“Still want you?” Cosima asks as she gets up, moves the suitcase off the bed, and sits down next to Delphine. “I’ve never wanted anything more. I love you, Delphine.”

Delphine reaches her hands up and grasps Cosima’s cheeks, staring into her eyes, “Je t’aime.” She gently pulls Cosima’s face close to hers, their lips meeting tentatively at first, softly, before that familiar spark ignites. The kiss turns passionate as Cosima shifts on the bed, slowly pushing Delphine so her back hits the mattress, their lips never parting. Suddenly, Cosima breaks away and Delphine’s eyes shoot open.

“We can’t do this here, not now.”

“Why not?” Delphine asks, concerned.

“My roommate, she’ll probably be back soon. I don’t think discovering me making out on her bed is the first impression I want to make when we meet.”

“You mean Shay?”

“Yeah, how’d you know her name?”

“I met her this morning while I was waiting for you. Nice girl, pretty, too. We don’t need to worry about her interrupting us.”

“How do you know that? I’m sure she wants to get settled in.”

“I know because I told her you're my girlfriend and I’d very much appreciate if she would switch rooms with me so you and I could be together. She was very understanding and agreed to the swap.”

“You told her that I’m your girlfriend?”

“That’s what you are, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know, am I? I haven’t seen you in three months. You must have been awfully optimistic that I’d take you back, huh?” Cosima teases.

Delphine shrugs, “I was hopeful.”

“So she just took your word that you were my girlfriend? How did she know you weren’t some crazy French stalker?”

“I showed her this,” Delphine flashes Cosima the picture of the two of them at Disneyland on her phone’s lock screen. “She knew you had dreads, so I think this photo convinced her. I told her me being here was a surprise.”

Cosima grabs her phone and shows Delphine the same picture on hers. “Guess we’re both sentimental idiots. Wait a sec, you said you switched rooms, does that mean you’re going here, that you’re a student?”

“Yes,” Delphine grins.

“How is that possible?”

“I had a lot of help. About six weeks ago, Gram found me perusing the University of Minnesota website and asked me what I wanted to do in the fall and I admitted that I really wanted to attend university and study science, with you. I told her that in order to get me into your high school, we did some not so ethical things, but that I could never attend college. Your grandmother has a lot of friends, retired doctors who donate their time at the clinic, donors whose money keeps the clinic open. First, she got herself declared my legal guardian, tuns out a judge in Miami owed her a favor. She also got me a social security number. Then I told her that you had said I had passed all my classes, despite skipping finals, so she requested my transcript along with recommendations from my teachers. Dr. Leekie actually wrote a very glowing letter.”

“I’m sure he did.”

“Once we had all of that, she spoke to her associate at the clinic who has a lot of connections at the university level. Turns out he is friendly with one of the chairs of the science department here. He phoned him, told him about me, then they had me fill out an application and they sent it in, along with all my transcripts and recommendations from school. About two weeks after that, I had a video conference with a biology professor, a couple department chairs, and a representative from admissions. A week or so later we got the call that I was in. They even found some scholarship money for me and I am going to be working on campus to make money to pay for some of my remaining tuition. It all came together very recently and Gram knew from speaking to you when you’d be arriving and what hall and room number you were in, so I decided to surprise you. I didn’t know if your roommate would get here before you. I had kind of hoped that we would talk first and then, if everything went well, convince her to switch. But I was sitting outside the door when she arrived earlier, so I figured I’d give it my best shot to convince her on my own. I was returning from helping her bring her belongings to her new room at Frontier Hall when I saw you arrive. I gathered my nerve outside before coming back up here to speak with you. That’s actually my suitcase. Thank goodness you didn’t reject me or you and I as roommates this semester could have been awkward.”

“I don’t know, I think I’ve changed my mind about the getting back together part. I mean, it’s not like you jumped though some ridiculous hoops to get here to be with me or anything.”

Delphine looks at her incredulously.

“I’m kidding, Del. I mean this whole thing is freakin’ unbelievable. You’re unbelievable. Every single day that you were gone, I would pray that you were happy. As much as I wanted you to come back to me, I wanted whatever you were doing to be something that brought you happiness. And this, you here with me right now, this is incredible, surreal even. We are going to be studying together, how fucking awesome is that?”

“Very fucking awesome,” Delphine mimics with a laugh.

“Wait, I wonder if it’s too late to get you into my classes.”

“About that, Gram found out for me which classes you were enrolled in. Of course I want to spend as much time with you as possible, but I also think we need some individual time. So, I am in your Biology, Chemistry, and Calculus classes, but I will also be taking a drama class and a political science class.”

“Oh, okay, yeah, you’re probably right, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? At least it’s not a whole summer’s absence, but just like an hour or two here and there. That’s no biggie, especially since you’ll be living with me and I’ll get to spend every night with you.” Cosima smiles so wide her face could get stuck like that. “My room has been so empty and lonely since you left.”

“What about the puppy?” Delphine points to the stuffed dog on Cosima’s bed.

“Ah, yes,” Cosima gets up, goes to the other bed, and picks up the stuffed toy, “puppy and I had a lot of heart to heart talks about you. Puppy kept me company at night, but this puppy is no replacement for my favorite puppy.”

“Good, cause that puppy technically belongs to me, so I’ll be taking it back,” Delphine reaches for the stuffed animal and Cosima pulls it away.

“Hey, you abandoned this puppy, I don’t think you have any rights to it.”

“But I’m here now and you won it for me.”

“Exactly, I won it, so I get to to decide who keeps it.” Delphine pouts. “Okay, fine, let’s let the puppy decide.” Cosima looks into the dog’s eyes. “Hey, puppy, would you rather be with me or Delphine?”

Cosima puts the dog’s mouth close to her ear and listens intently. She then hands the pup to Delphine.

“Puppy chose you, said you’re the leader of the pack.”

“Good doggy,” Delphine says as she hugs and kisses it. “What’s that? You want to be with us both? I think that can be arranged.”

“This is nice,” Cosima comments with a smile.

“What is?”

“This, you being here, us joking around like before. And I know this whole thing is crazy, all of it, how you’re here, why you’re here, but I’m so happy right now and I didn’t think I’d ever feel this way again.”

Delphine puts the puppy down and moves over to the other bed next to Cosima. “I feel the same way. Part of me is glad I left only because it made me realize just how much I love you and how happy you make me and that I don’t want to be away from you that long ever again.”

Cosima surges forward, kissing Delphine. When they break for air, Delphine rubs their noses together, then opens her eyes. “When did this happen?” she asks, pointing towards Cosima’s nose.

Cosima is confused for a sec, then reaches up and touches her nose, “Oh, the nose ring. Yeah, I got it over the summer. Do you not like it? I still have the stud, if you prefer, it’s in my bag.”

“No, I like, it suits you,” Delphine leans forward and kisses Cosima’s nose.

“Can you pinch me?”

“What?”

“Just pinch me.”

Delphine pinches Cosima’s side.

“Ow. Okay, I'm not dreaming.”

“No, you’re definitely not dreaming,” Delphine assures. 

“Thank god. So, what should we do now? Do you want to tour the campus?”

Delphine shakes her head, “No.”

“Okay, um, should we head into town?”

“No.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Right now, I just want to make crazy science with you in our new dorm room.”

Cosima’s eyes go wide, “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“What do you think it means?”

“I think it means we should put these two beds together cause this one alone is not big enough for two and what we’re about to do.”

They both quickly jump up and move Delphine’s bed next to Cosima’s. They then hastily put sheets on the beds.

“Are you sure?” Cosima asks as they come together at the foot of the bed. “I mean last time we did this, it didn’t end too well.”

“Cosima, last time we did this it was incredible.”

“Tell me about it, I’ve had that memory permanently etched into my brain for months, but the aftermath, that was not quite as satisfying.”

Delphine grabs Cosima’s hands. “Do you have anything else you’re hiding from me?”

“No, I don’t,” Cosima insists.

“Good, I don’t either, so we won’t have a problem. Now we have 3 months of separation to make up for, so take off your clothes.”

“Damn, Delphine, what’s gotten into you?” Cosima teases.

“More like what hasn’t,” Delphine replies, bringing Cosima’s right hand to her mouth and kissing her fingers, causing Cosima’s heart to flutter.

When Delphine releases her hand, Cosima wastes little time pulling her clothes off and Delphine follows suit. Soon they’re both standing there, naked, drinking in the sight of the other.

“Delphine?”

“Yeah,” Delphine shifts her gaze from Cosima’s breasts to her eyes.

“I’ve missed you,” Cosima says sweetly and Delphine grasps Cosima’s face, pulling her into a fervent kiss.

Delphine backs Cosima onto the bed, then proceeds to place kisses all over Cosima’s body: her neck, her chest, her shoulder. As she trails kisses down the outside of Cosima’s left arm, she rotates it so she can kiss the inside. She pauses as something catches her eye and she pulls back.

“What is it? Why’d you stop?” Cosima asks with alarm.

“You were hiding something else from me,” Delphine says, her fingers tracing Cosima’s forearm.

Cosima looks over at her arm, recognition washing over her, “Oh, yeah, that.”

“When did you get it?”

“Same time I got this,” Cosima points to her nose ring. “This design got in my head and I immediately went to see Cane.”

Delphine rolls off of Cosima and lays to her left, taking Cosima’s hand and raising her arm so she can get a good look at the new ink.

“It’s a dandelion in its final seed stage, some of the seeds have already detached and are blowing away.”

“Interesting,” Delphine observes.

“You hate it?”

“Non, not at all, I like it, but what made you choose this design?”

“You.”

“Me?” Delphine asks with surprise. “I don’t follow.”

“Well, I was laying in the park, thinking about you, when I noticed a dandelion. I plucked it from the ground and then blew on it and watched the seeds fly off. It reminded me of you, how you came into my life for a period of time and brought so much beauty and happiness with you and then, poof, you were gone, off to spread your joy somewhere else, to plant your seeds and bloom anew. At that moment, I realized I needed it tattooed on me, like a representation of you that I would carry with me forever.”

“That’s really lovely, Cosima, but,” a tear falls from the corner of Delphine’s eye and Cosima quickly kisses it away.

“But what?”

“But I should have been there with you. Who held your hand?”

“You did,” Cosima responds and Delphine looks at her with confusion. “When I was at the tattoo shop and Cane brought the needle to my arm, all I thought of was you, next to me, holding my hand, and it didn’t hurt.”

“I’m glad you weren’t in pain, I never want be the cause of your pain ever again.” Delphine leans down and kisses the tattoo, then continues where she left off, shifting back on top of Cosima and working her way down, kissing her neck, her breasts, her tummy, before reaching her final destination. Cosima’s heart speeds up with anticipation as Delphine glances up at her one last time before refocussing her attention elsewhere, lips and tongue exploring Cosima like they had on prom night, but this time with less anxiety and more determination. Determination to make up for all the lost time, the days, weeks, months, when she could have been doing this, wanted to be doing this, if she was honest with herself. Three months of built up tension hit Cosima hard as she can barely control the moans of delight escaping her own lips as Delphine expertly works her over with flicks and licks. Cosima is so loud, that Delphine is certain that if anyone is in the hall or in nearby rooms, they’ll surely be getting an earful. Cosima comes fast and furious, then wastes little time taking over, wanting to give Delphine as good as she got.

Cosima nudges Delphine back up so they’re face to face. As they kiss, Cosima flips them so she’s on top. As their mouths continue in sync, Cosima’s right hand works its way down Delphine’s body, kneading at her breasts, then caressing down her side as it lands on her wet core, fingers entering with ease. Then Cosima’s mouth blazes the same trail her hand did, kissing down Delphine’s body, her tongue finding its way into her belly button, eliciting giggles from Delphine. Finally, her mouth joins her hand, working as a unit to devour Delphine, bringing her to the edge and then pushing her over.

“Wow!” Cosima exclaims, as she rolls off Delphine and snuggles against her side, head on her chest.

“Yeah,” Delphine smiles. “Wow!”

Cosima listens to Delphine’s heart beating, then lifts a hand to feel her own, “My heart it beats like a drum.” She taps her chest.

“It feels like,” Delphine continues.

“It feels like I’m in love,” they finish in unison, capping it off with a sweet kiss.

“Oh my god!” Cosima suddenly exclaims.

“I don’t think god had anything to do with it.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that, not that it doesn’t deserve it, but I meant, oh my god did I just have sex with my aunt?”

Delphine laughs, “No, Cosima, Gram is my legal guardian, she didn’t adopt me.”

“So you’re not Delphine Niehaus now?”

“No. Well, not yet, at least.”

“Not yet?” Cosima looks at her questioningly, before opening her mouth wide in surprise, “Delphine, do you want to marry me?”

“I thought you’d never ask. Yes!” Delphine exclaims.

“But, um, that’s not, uh, I didn’t mean-”

“Cosima, relax, I’m just kidding, I know you weren’t proposing. But in the future, yes, of course I want to be married to you. Although I actually really do like the name Cormier, so maybe you can change yours to Cosima Cormier.”

“Hmm, Cosima Cormier,” Cosima repeats, “it has a nice ring to it. But I don’t wanna lose my last name either. How about we hyphenate, we can be Drs. Cormier-Niehaus?”

“I like the sound of that,” Delphine agrees, emphasizing her approval with a kiss.

Cosima reaches for her phone, “Smile!”

“What are you doing?”

“Taking a photo of us.”

“In bed?”

“Yeah,” Cosima responds as she starts typing on her phone.

“And what are you doing now?”

“Texting it to the gang.” She sends the group text.

“Cosima?” Delphine asks, incredulously, “Did you seriously just send them a photo of us in bed?”

Cosima shrugs innocently, “It’s a nice pic, your hair looks great.” She shows Delphine the photo. “Besides, they’ve all been concerned about me and they’re worried about you, too. I know you said that I was all you had, but you do have other friends, Delphine. I need them to know we’re together again and that you're ok, that I’m ok.”

“I was mad when I said that, about you being all I had, I know I have friends and I've missed them.”  
   
“We'll see them at Thanksgiving and then at Christmas, that is, if you want to go back to San Fran with me.”

“Of course I do, it's home.”

Cosima smiles broadly, then a thought occurs to her, “Oh shit, that reminds me.” She sends another text.

“What did you send them now?”

“Oh, this one wasn’t to our friends, I just texted the photo to my folks and Gram.”  
   
“You sent your parents the photo of us in bed?”

“Yup!”

Cosima’s phone starts lighting up with texts.

Beth: _It’s about damn time! Woohoo._  
Alison: _Holy fishsticks, I’m crying._  
Tony: _You get it, Dreads. Lookin’ fine, Curls ;)_

“Look, my Dad sent the thumbs up emoji, I only showed him how to do that last week. And Mom said, ‘Hallelujah! Send Delphine our love.’ They've missed you, a lot.”

The phone rings and Cosima answers on speaker, “Hey Sarah!”

“Are you bloody kidding, Cos, did you photoshop Delphine into that picture?”

“No, Sarah, I’m really here,” Delphine responds.

“You finally came to your senses, huh, Blondie?”

Delphine chuckles, “Yes, I did.”

“Good, now Cos doesn’t need to use me as a cuddle buddy.”

“Hey, you know you liked it,” Cosima insists.

“You wish. Just promise me you won’t take off on our Geek Monkey again, Delphine.”

“Je promets. I promise.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

“Thanks, Sarah. Hey, is Helena there?” Cosima asks.

“Yeah, hold on a sec.”

“Hello.”

“Helena, hi, it’s Cosima and Delphine.”

“Science Puppy has returned to you?”

“Yes, she has” Cosima laughs.

“I have, indeed, returned,” Delphine adds.

“This makes me very happy to hear,” Helena responds.

“Us, too. Helena, I just wanted to thank you.”

“For what?”

“A long time ago you gave me something that’s brought me more happiness than I can even put into words and I don’t think I’ve ever properly expressed my gratitude.”

“Yes, merci, Helena.”

“Did I give you something as well?”

Delphine looks at Cosima, “You gave me everything.”

“You’re both very welcome,” she hands the phone back Sarah. “I think they’re high,” they hear Helena say as Sarah gets back on.

“Well, I don’t want to keep the two of you from your reunion, from the looks of that photo, it seems to be going really well. I’ll talk to you both later.”

“Bye Sarah,” they say in unison as they end the call.

Cosima’s phone immediately starts ringing again. “Scott’s calling on FaceTime,” she says as she accepts the call and Scott’s image appears on the screen. “Hey, Scotty!”

“Cosima, what the what? Is Delphine really there with you?”

“She is,” Cosima adjusts her the phone so Delphine is in the shot with her.

“Hi Scott!” Delphine greets him with a wave.

“Whoa! I am sooo happy to see you, Delphine. And to see the two of you together. I, um, I need to apologize for my part in all this-”

“Scott,” Delphine cuts him off, “it’s okay, I know you just wanted Cosima to be happy.” Scott nods. “We’ve worked it all out.”

“I can see that,” he grins.

“How’s Wisconsin?” Cosima asks.

“It’s nice here, way different from home, but nice. And my roommate is cool, he’s a gamer, too, so we’ve been playing lots of video games.”

“Nice! My roommate isn’t half bad either,” Cosima grins, looking at Delphine.

Scott laughs.

“Yeah, well, my roommate snores,” Delphine complains.

“Hey, I do not,” Cosima protests.

“Yes, you do, but it’s actually pretty cute. I’ve missed it.”

Cosima leans in, makes a little snoring sound, and kisses Delphine. After several seconds, Delphine glances at the screen, where Scott remains, watching them with a huge smile on his face.

“Bye, Scott,” Delphine says as she reaches for the phone and ends the call, then resumes kissing a giggling Cosima.

They’re soon interrupted by another call. “It’s Gram,” Cosima says as she accepts the call.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Cosima, I see things are going well for you in Minnesota.”

“Yes, Gram, things are going very well. And I understand you did a lot to make this happen. Thank you.”

“I was glad to help, I just want you to be happy, both of you.”

“We are,” Cosima assures.

“Am I on speakerphone?”

“Yes.”

“Delphine, honey, I’m thrilled things worked out for you.”

“So am I, thank you.”

“Now, I know you’re in the reconnecting phase, but try not to spend all your time in bed and plenty of time kicking ass in school. I expect big things from the both of you.”

“We will do plenty of ass kicking,” Cosima insists.

“Good.”

“Oh, and Gram?”

“Yes, Cosima?”

“I won’t fuck it up this time.”

“I know you won’t, sweetie. You girls get back to what you were doing, you still have a few days before classes start, have fun.”

“Oh, we will,” Cosima says devilishly. “Talk to you soon.”

“Bye Gram,” Delphine adds as the call ends.

“Do you want to switch sides?” Delphine asks, “I just realized I’m on yours.”

“Actually, I’ve sort of gotten used to sleeping on the right side of the bed, it was kind of comforting.”

Delphine laughs.

“What?” Cosima asks.

“I started sleeping on the left side.”

“Wow, we really are disgustingly sentimental, aren’t we?”

“Oui,” Delphine replies, as she hops out of bed and digs something out of her suitcase. “We are awful,” Delphine says as she returns to the bed with the Mickey Mouse ears from Disneyland on her head.

“Oh my,” Cosima wiggles her eyebrows, “now we’re talking.” Cosima kisses Delphine with a renewed burst of energy.

“Cosima?” Delphine asks between kisses.

“Hmm?”

“Do they have Taco Tuesday in college?”

Cosima laughs against her lips, “I think once you’re in college, every day can be Taco Tuesday.”

“Good,” Delphine leans back into her pillow as Cosima braces her head on her hand and stares at Delphine with a goofy grin on her face.

Delphine glances over at her, “What are you smiling about?”

“I can’t believe I actually brought my doll to college.”

Delphine rolls her eyes and playfully pushes Cosima’s arm out from under her head, then wraps her arm around Cosima’s waist, pulling their bodies flush, their faces nose to nose. They stare into each other’s eyes, 10 years of memories and love reflecting back at them both, as they tenderly resume kissing.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank you, wonderful readers, for the kudos and lovely comments, and, most of all, for sticking with this story through all 31 chapters.


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